The Cytoskeleton and Its Roles in Self-Organization Phenomena: Insights from Xenopus Egg Extracts
1
Department of Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, 1000 E. University Ave, Laramie, WY 82070, USA
2
Univ Rennes, CNRS, IGDR (Institut de Génétique et Développement de Rennes)-UMR 6290, F-35000 Rennes, France
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
†
These authors contributed equally.
Academic Editor: Alexander E. Kalyuzhny
Cells 2021, 10(9), 2197; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10092197
Received: 23 July 2021
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Revised: 18 August 2021
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Accepted: 21 August 2021
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Published: 26 August 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Cytoskeleton Dynamics during Cell Division)
Self-organization of and by the cytoskeleton is central to the biology of the cell. Since their introduction in the early 1980s, cytoplasmic extracts derived from the eggs of the African clawed-frog, Xenopus laevis, have flourished as a major experimental system to study the various facets of cytoskeleton-dependent self-organization. Over the years, the many investigations that have used these extracts uniquely benefited from their simplified cell cycle, large experimental volumes, biochemical tractability and cell-free nature. Here, we review the contributions of egg extracts to our understanding of the cytoplasmic aspects of self-organization by the microtubule and the actomyosin cytoskeletons as well as the importance of cytoskeletal filaments in organizing nuclear structure and function.
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Keywords:
cytoskeleton; Xenopus egg extract; self-organization; microtubule; actin
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MDPI and ACS Style
Geisterfer, Z.M.; Guilloux, G.; Gatlin, J.C.; Gibeaux, R. The Cytoskeleton and Its Roles in Self-Organization Phenomena: Insights from Xenopus Egg Extracts. Cells 2021, 10, 2197. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10092197
AMA Style
Geisterfer ZM, Guilloux G, Gatlin JC, Gibeaux R. The Cytoskeleton and Its Roles in Self-Organization Phenomena: Insights from Xenopus Egg Extracts. Cells. 2021; 10(9):2197. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10092197
Chicago/Turabian StyleGeisterfer, Zachary M., Gabriel Guilloux, Jesse C. Gatlin, and Romain Gibeaux. 2021. "The Cytoskeleton and Its Roles in Self-Organization Phenomena: Insights from Xenopus Egg Extracts" Cells 10, no. 9: 2197. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10092197
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