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Credit: © ERWIN SIGEL" /> Credit: © ERWIN SIGEL >> Settling an oocyte actin conundrumActin is actively cleared from the nuclei of most eukaryotic cells with the exception of the giant nuclei found in amphibian oocytes. This discrepancy has led to speculations about exotic actin conformations serving equally exotic functions in specialized nuclei. Dirk Görlich of the Center for Molecular Biology at Heidelberg University and his group recently reported that the mechanism for having

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>> Settling an oocyte actin conundrum

Actin is actively cleared from the nuclei of most eukaryotic cells with the exception of the giant nuclei found in amphibian oocytes. This discrepancy has led to speculations about exotic actin conformations serving equally exotic functions in specialized nuclei. Dirk Görlich of the Center for Molecular Biology at Heidelberg University and his group recently reported that the mechanism for having actin in these oocyte nuclei is actually quite simple.1 Exp6, an actin specific exporter conserved from amoeba to vertebrate, is absent from the amphibian oocyte. Adding Exp6 to oocytes from Xenopus laevis cleared the actin and resulted in fragile giant nuclei, consistent with a structural role from an F-actin scaffold. Duke University professor and Faculty of 1000 member Harold Erickson calls the study "simply beautiful."

"I've found the idea of whether there's actin in the nucleus to be interesting over time. And usually reports ...

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