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Nuclear Membrane

The double membrane of the nucleus enclosing DNA and any other genetic material in a eukaryotic cell is called the nuclear membrane. It separates the DNA from the cytosol. The space between the two membranes is called the perinuclear space and is from 20 to 100 nm wide. The rough endoplasmic reticulum connects with the outer membrane. You can easily see these structures in a raw chicken egg. The nuclear membrane is often referred to as the nuclear envelope.

Pores on the nuclear membrane regulate the exchange of materials like proteins between the nucleus and the cytoplasm. Inside the inner membrane, nuclear lamina form a network of filaments that play an important role in mitosis and in meiosis.

During prophase in mitotic cell division, the nuclear membrane disintegrates after the chromotids start to replicate and form chromosomes. By the end of metaphase, the nuclear membrane is completely gone, releasing the nuclear lamina, which form spindle fibers that pull apart the chromosomes from the chromotins, and help to repel them to different ends of the cell.

In certain eukaryotes like yeast, a closed mitosis is undergone, in which chromosomes remain within the nuclear membrane; the membrane itself undergoes a division as the two daughter cells divide.

You may also find the nuclear membrane referred to as the karyotheca, nucleolemma, and perinuclear envelope.

Web Resources On Nuclear Membrane

Nuclear Envelope
Protein Interactions at the Nuclear Envelope

Book Resources On Nuclear Membrane

The Nuclear Envelope by J. Bryant
The Structure of Biological Membranes by Philip L. Yeagle

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