Cytological effects of colchicine on the grasshopper neuroblast in vitro with special reference to the origin of the spindle

Abstract

The effectiveness of colchicine in destroying or preventing the development of the spindle is determined by the concentration of the colchicine and the degree of development of the spindle at the time of exposure; the greater the concentration of colchicine, the greater will be its effectiveness in destroying the spindle or interfering with its development; the more completely the spindle is developed at the time of exposure to colchicine, the greater is the concentration of colchicine required to destroy it or prevent its further development. The series of changes in chromosome orientation that take place during the course of colchicine action, namely, approximation of centromeres, formation of “stars,” the breaking up of one “star” into several, and complete chromosome disorientation, represent successive stages in the destruction of the spindle. Destruction of the completely formed spindle is typically accompanied by the accumulation of the spindle material outside the diminishing spindle in a hyaline globule. Similarly, interference of colchicine with spindle development leads to the accumulation of the presumptive spindle material, i.e., the karyolymph, in one or more hyaline globules. It is suggested that colchicine does not destroy the spindle material but merely alters its molecular orientation, so that it comes to comprise a spherical mass with no mitotic function. Strong concentrations of colchicine cause middle and late prophase nuclei to revert to early prophase. Somewhat lower concentrations applied to late prophase nuclei occasionally delay the breakdown of the nuclear membrane without altering the rate of chromosome contraction. In greatly retarded late prophase nuclei the chromosomes lose their intranuclear orientation, which lends support to the concept that the centromeres normally maintain a fixed position within the nucleus.