Control of vulval cell division number in the nematode Oscheius/Dolichorhabditis sp. CEW1

Spatial patterning of vulval precursor cell fates is achieved through a different two-stage induction mechanism in the nematode Oscheius/Dolichorhabditis sp. CEW1 compared with Caenorhabditis elegans. We therefore performed a genetic screen for vulva mutants in Oscheius sp. CEW1. Most mutants display phenotypes unknown in C. elegans. Here we present the largest mutant category, which affects division number of the vulva precursors P(4-8).p without changing their fate. Among these mutations, some reduce the number of divisions of P4.p and P8.p specifically. Two mutants omit the second cell cycle of all vulval lineages. A large subset of mutants undergo additional rounds of vulval divisions. We also found precocious and retarded heterochronic mutants. Whereas the C. elegans vulval lineage mutants can be interpreted as overall (homeotic) changes in precursor cell fates with concomitant cell cycle changes, the mutants described in Oscheius sp. CEW1 do not affect overall precursor fate and thereby dissociate the genetic mechanisms controlling vulval cell cycle and fate. Laser ablation experiments in these mutants reveal that the two first vulval divisions in Oscheius sp. CEW1 appear to be redundantly controlled by a gonad-independent mechanism and by a gonadal signal that operates partially independently of vulval fate induction.