Abstract
While nuclear actin was reported ~50 years ago, it's in vivo prevalence and structure remain largely unknown. Here, we use Drosophila oogenesis, that is, follicle development, to characterize nuclear actin. We find that three different reagents-DNase I, anti-actin C4, and anti-actin AC15-recognize distinct pools of nuclear actin. DNase I labels monomeric or G-actin, and, during follicle development, G-actin is present in the nucleus of every cell. Some G-actin is recognized by the C4 antibody. In particular, C4 nuclear actin colocalizes with DNase I to the nucleolus in anterior escort cells, follicle stem cells, some mitotic follicle cells, and a subset of nurse cells during early oogenesis. C4 also labels polymeric nuclear actin in the nucleoplasm of the germline stem cells, early cystoblasts, and oocytes. The AC15 antibody labels a completely distinct pool of nuclear actin from that of DNase I and C4. Specifically, AC15 nuclear actin localizes to the chromatin in the nurse and follicle cells during mid-to-late oogenesis. Within the oocyte, AC15 nuclear actin progresses from localizing to puncta surrounding the DNA, to forming a filamentous cage around the chromosomes. Together these findings reveal that nuclear actin is highly prevalent in vivo, and multiple pools of nuclear actin exist and can be recognized using different reagents. Additionally, our localization studies suggest that nuclear actin may regulate stemness, nucleolar structure and function, transcription, and nuclear structure. Such findings call for further studies to explore the prevalence, diversity, and functions of nuclear actin across tissues and organisms. Anat Rec, 301:2014-2036, 2018. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.