ON THE ORIENTATION OF CENTRIOLES IN DIVIDING CELLS, AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE: A NEW CONTRIBUTION TO SPINDLE MECHANICS

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Abstract
The centrioles of the resting first cleavage metaphase of the egg of the acoel, Polychoerus carmelensis. are slightly curved rods(5u or more in length) oriented at right angles to each other and to the spindle axis. The right angle orientation and predicted behavior, compared with earlier observations by others on centriole orientation and behavior in the spermatocytes of Gryllidae and Hemiptera, lead to a new hypothesis, which may account, in part, for cleavage patterns: (a) The orientation of the centrioles and their mode of reproduction determines the path of separation of daughter centrioles. (b) This, in turn, determines the orientation of the main axis of the spindle for the next division, and hence, the relative position of daughter cells with respect to each other. (c) This arrangement of daughter cells is maintained, for a time, by the primary cell connective( spindle remnant plus cortical layer) .

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