Theoretical and experimental investigation of dynein-mediated transport and positioning of the nucleus prior to first division in the early C. elegans embryo

Centrosomes are nucleus-associated organelles that serve as the nucleation site for microtubule arrays. Microtubules nucleated from these arrays interact with motor proteins such as dynein at the periphery of the cell, which act to transport the nucleus and position it prior to division. In polarized cells, where specific factors are segregated to opposite ends of the cell as seen in early embryos of the nematode worm C. elegans, proper centrosome positioning is particularly important, determining whether the division process is symmetric or asymmetric. Using a combination of stochastic and continuum models with experimental validation in early C. elegans embryos, we demonstrate that centrosome asymmetry and the geometry of the early embryo are both critical for proper centrosome positioning in the early C. elegans embryo.