Electron tomography of two mating yeast nuclei reveals multiple steps to fusion.

Mating is complicated for yeast. The nuclei of two cells have to get together, even though both nuclear membranes remain intact. Melloy et al. now nail down how many steps it takes for the cells to combine their nuclei.

Before human gametes fuse, their nuclear membranes break down to allow the nuclear contents to mix. But when yeast mate, the inner and outer membranes of the two nuclei have to join, as do the spindle pole bodies (SPBs). Spanning the inner and outer membranes, SPBs anchor the microtubules that winch the nuclei together. Whether the components merge simultaneously or in three separate steps has been debated, due to the difficulty of catching nuclei in the act.

Melloy et al. used electron tomography to capture 3D images of nuclei at different stages of fusion....

The Rockefeller University Press
2007
The Rockefeller University Press
2007
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