Reduced Akt levels lead to defects in syncytial mitoses. (A–D) Syncytial stage embryos fixed with methanol to reveal DNA (red), centrosomes (A and B, green), or MTs (C and D, green). (A and C) Wild-type embryos. (B and D) akt embryos show gaps in their cortex, which is devoid of nuclei but contains many centrosomes. Although many spindles look normal, regions of akt embryos show poorly formed spindles that are irregularly spaced (D, arrow). (E) A cross-sectional view of an akt embryo in prometaphase. Arrows indicate spindle poles not connected to the embryonic cortex. (F–I) Gross actin morphology is not perturbed in akt embryos. During interphase in wild-type (F) or akt embryos (G), actin is present in cortical caps. During metaphase in wild-type (H) and akt (I) embryos, actin is present in pseudocleavage furrows. Bars, 10 μm.