Effects of gravity on spicule formation in cultured micromeres of sea urchin embryo Original Research Article

To investigate the effects of gravity on morphogenesis at the cellular level, we have proposed a new experimental system with micromeres from sea urchin embryos [Izumi-Kurotani, A., Kiyomoto, M. Morphogenesis and gravity in a whole Amphibian Embryo and in isolated blastomeres of sea urchins, in: Marthy, H. -J. (Ed.), Developmental Biology Research in Space. Adv. Space Biol. Med. vol. 9, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 83–99, 2003]. We studied spicule formation in cultured micromeres of sea urchin embryo under various conditions of gravity: hypergravity by a centrifuge and simulated microgravity in a vertical clinostat. Spicule elongation was suppressed under both experimental conditions.