Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 19, 2026

High-Resolution C. elegans Imaging Across All Larval Stages

High-Resolution C. elegans Imaging Across All Larval Stages

Published on: May 23, 2025

Caenorhabditis elegans vulval cell fate patterning.

Marie-Anne Félix¹

¹Institute of Biology of the Ecole Normale Supérieure, CNRS-ENS-Inserm, 46 rue d'Ulm, 75005 Paris, France. felix@biologie.ens.fr

Physical Biology

|August 9, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Differential Phoretic Vector Use Among Sympatric <i>Caenorhabditis</i> Nematodes and an Association With Invasive Nitidulid Beetles in Southwestern Germany.

Ecology and evolution·2026

Same author

Repeated mutation of a GT92 glycosyltransferase gene confers antiviral resistance in two <i>Caenorhabditis</i> species.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

The olfactory receptor SNIF-1 mediates foraging for leucine-enriched diets in <i>C. elegans</i>.

eLife·2026

Same author

Global genomic diversity of the selfing nematode <i>Caenorhabditis tropicalis</i> correlates with geography.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Intraspecific variation in the duration of epigenetic inheritance in wild isolates of C. elegans.

Current biology : CB·2026

Same author

Natural variation suggests candidate genes underlying Caenorhabditis elegans susceptibility to diverse toxicants.

Toxicological sciences : an official journal of the Society of Toxicology·2026

Quantitative models reveal two mechanisms for cell fate patterning in C. elegans vulva development. Sequential induction is more robust, while the P3.p cell fate shows rapid evolution.

Area of Science:

Developmental Biology
Systems Biology
Evolutionary Biology

Background:

Vulva development in Caenorhabditis elegans provides a model for spatial patterning of cell fates.
The intercellular signaling network governing fate specification is known, but quantitative details are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

To elucidate quantitative aspects of the cell fate specification network.
To explore developmental patterning mechanisms and their robustness.

Main Methods:

Development of quantitative models of the intercellular signaling network.
Analysis of parameter variation effects on cell fate pattern output.
Experimental investigation of robustness and evolutionary variation in cell fates.

More Related Videos

Computational Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline to Study the Distribution of Nuclei, Proteins, and the Cytoskeleton

Computational Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline to Study the Distribution of Nuclei, Proteins, and the Cytoskeleton

Published on: April 19, 2018

Identification of EGFR and RAS Inhibitors using Caenorhabditis elegans

Identification of EGFR and RAS Inhibitors using Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: October 5, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 19, 2026

High-Resolution C. elegans Imaging Across All Larval Stages

High-Resolution C. elegans Imaging Across All Larval Stages

Published on: May 23, 2025

Computational Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline to Study the Distribution of Nuclei, Proteins, and the Cytoskeleton

Computational Analysis of the Caenorhabditis elegans Germline to Study the Distribution of Nuclei, Proteins, and the Cytoskeleton

Published on: April 19, 2018

Identification of EGFR and RAS Inhibitors using Caenorhabditis elegans

Identification of EGFR and RAS Inhibitors using Caenorhabditis elegans

Published on: October 5, 2020

Main Results:

Two primary mechanisms for patterning three cell fates were identified: sequential inductions and morphogen-based induction.
Sequential induction demonstrates greater robustness to parameter variations.
The P3.p cell fate is uniquely sensitive to stochastic variation and mutation, exhibiting faster evolution.
While most cell fates are conserved, different Caenorhabditis species exhibit varied responses to system perturbations.

Conclusions:

Quantitative network variations, rather than rewiring, may explain interspecies differences in response to perturbations.
Stabilizing selection appears to maintain conservation in most vulval precursor cell fates.
Network rewiring is likely a factor in evolution over longer timescales.