The cell cycle of epidermal cells during reprogramming in the pupa of Galleria

Abstract

The epidermal cell cycle of the pupal mesonotum of Galleria was investigated by the determination of mitotic indices, [ 3H]thymidine incorporation and flow-cytophotometric analysis during the first 48 h after pupation. Immediately after the pupal ecdysis nearly all epidermal cells are arrested in G2. Thereafter only a few mitoses occur, leading to a slow increase in the number of G1 nuclei. With the onset of a mitotic wave at a pupal age of 21 h this increase becomes more rapid. On day 2, the cell population reaches a plateau in the number of G1 (resp. G2) cells, reflecting a steady state between mitotic activity and DNA synthesis. A comparison of these cell cycle changes with known data of the time course of reprogramming and ecdysteroid titre leads to the conclusion that there is no causal relationship between DNA synthesis and cellular determination in the sense of a quantal cell cycle, and that DNA synthesis can precede the definite rise in ecdysteroid titre.