Cellular interactions in early C. elegans embryos

Author: Priess, J. R.; Thomson, J. N.

Description: In normal development both the anterior and posterior blastomeres in a 2-cell C. elegans embryo produce some descendants that become muscles. We show that cellular interactions appear to be necessary in order for the anterior blastomere to produce these muscles. The anterior blastomere does not produce any muscle descendants after either the posterior blastomere or one of the daughters of the posterior blastomere is removed from the egg. Moreover, we demonstrate that a daughter of the anterior blastomere that normally does not produce muscles appears capable of generating muscles when interchanged with its sister, a cell that normally does produce muscles. Embryos develop normally after these blastomeres are interchanged, suggesting that cellular interactions play a major role in determining the fates of some cells in early embryogenesis.

Subject headings: Animals; Blastomeres, cytology; Caenorhabditis elegans, cytology, embryology; Cell Communication; Muscles, cytology, embryology; Pharyngeal Muscles, cytology, embryology; C elegans

Publication year: 1987

Journal or book title: Cell

Volume: 48

Issue: 2

Pages: 241-250

Find the full text: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0092867487904272

Find more like this one (cited by): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=8691456775327950471&as_sdt=1000005&sciodt=0,16&hl=en

Serial number: 3663

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