The effects of pulse cycloheximide treatments on the light-induced recovery of mitotic divisions in antheridial filaments of Chara vulgaris

Abstract

Within the proliferative period of spermatogenesis in Chara vulgaris, the progression throughout successive cell divisions in antheridial filaments is greatly influenced by changes in photoperiodic conditions. The extended (4-day) period of total darkness brings about cell cycle arrest in the early G2 phase. The recovery of mitosis requires about 20 hours of exposition to light. In the present study, a series of 8 pulse incubations of plants in cycloheximide (Cx; 2.5 mg/I, 2.5 h each pulse) were performed within the period elapsing till the resumption of mitotic divisions. Depending on the time of treatment, the effects induced by Cx vary considerably. Within the first 10 hs of exposition to light, incubations with Cx result in the delays of mitoses; within the period between the 10th and the 17th h, mitotic divisions become blocked, and, following the 17.5 h of light-induced recovery, no influence of Cx is noticed on mitotic activity, as compared with the untreaed control plants. The obtained results provide a starting point for the characteristic of proteins synthesized during the G2 phase and a preliminary study on those mechanisms, which become engaged in the regulation of the G1-deficient cell cycle evidenced in antheridial filaments of Chara.