Abstract
Intermediate filament protein [relative molecular mass (Mr) 49,000 (49K)] from the ciliated protozoan Tetrahymena has been shown to resemble intermediate filament proteins from mammalian cells in several respects1, and to have a possible role in the oral morphogenesis preceding binary fission in Tetrahymena2. Here, based on immunofluorescence localization of the 49K protein in Tetrahymena during the early stages of conjugation, we suggest that the protein is involved in some nuclear events3–5, such as the production of four haploid nuclei by prezygotic divisions (meiosis), selection of one of the four meiotic products, formation of the gametic pronucleus by the mitotic division of the selected meiotic product, transfer of the gametic pronucleus across a cell–cell junction, and zygote formation by pronuclear fusion.
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Numata, O., Sugai, T. & Watanabe, Y. Control of germ cell nuclear behaviour at fertilization by Tetrahymena intermediate filament protein. Nature 314, 192–194 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/314192a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/314192a0
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