The effects of cytochalasin B and colchicine on the morphogenesis of mitochondria in Drosophila hydei during meiosis and early spermiogenesis. An in vitro study.

Morphogenesis of mitochondria in male germ cells in cultivated cytocysts begins in early prophase I at which time mitochondria thicken and become ordered along the spindle apparatus during meiosis. At the end of the second meiotic division they aggregate to form the Nebenkern. In the presence of colchicine or cytochalasin B mitochondria are able to begin differentiation, although the correct course of meiosis is not guaranteed. In medium supplemented with colchicine they undergo normal thickening but do not aggregate, in a pattern known from untreated cultures. This may indicate that microtubules are involved in the aggregation process of mitochondria as colchicine is known to inhibit microtubule formation. Moreover, in cell cultures treated with cytochalasin B mitochondrial aggregation does occur; it is concluded that microfilaments, which are sensitive to cytochalasin B, do not play a detectable role in the aggregation of mitochondria.