Photoactivation of Actin in Mouse Oocyte

Abstract

Development of fluorescence distribution assays like FRAP (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching) or photoactivation has had a great impact in studying intracellular protein dynamics. In particular, the cytoskeleton field largely benefited from these techniques, with lots of new information provided about the dynamics and organization of actin networks whithin cells. In mouse oocyte, actin photoactivation has been very useful to determine the dynamics of different actin structures involved in meiotic divisions, including a cytoplasmic meshwork and a subcortical actin layer. Here, we describe a method, actin photoactivation, to determine the dynamics of the actin cytoplasmic meshwork and the subcortical actin layer during the first meiotic division in the mouse oocyte, that could be adapted to other actin structures or other stages of meiotic divisions.