Observation of cell division in amphibian embryos with confocal laser microscopy

In order to investigate the molecular mechanisms of cell division in early development of amphibians, the embryos were fixed and stained with anti-cyclin B1 antibody or anti-α and γ tubulin antibodies and the second antibody conjugated with FITC. Cyclin B1 was localized in the condensed chromatins, chromosomes, centrosomes, and spindles. γ tubulin was localized centrosomes and poles of spindles. The confocal laser microscopy enabled us to observe the localization of these molecules in a large size of cells, more than 500μm in diameter.