Abstract
During C. elegans embryogenesis an 8-cell stage blastomere, called MS, undergoes a reproducible cleavage pattern, producing pharyngeal cells, body wall muscles, and cell deaths. We show here that maternal-effect mutations in the pie-1 and mex-1 genes cause additional 8-cell stage blastomeres to adopt a fate very similar to that of the wild-type MS blastomere. In pie-1 mutants one additional posterior blastomere adopts an MS-like fate, and in mex-1 mutants four additional anterior blastomeres adopt an MS-like fate. We propose that maternally provided pie-1(+) and mex-1(+) gene products may function in the early embryo to localize or regulate factors that determine the fate of the MS blastomere.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 163-176 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Cell |
Volume | 70 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 10 1992 |
Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Cell Biology
- Molecular Biology