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Canalization of C. elegans Vulva Induction against Anatomical Variability
Guizela Huelsz-Prince1, Jeroen Sebastiaan van Zon1
1AMOLF, Science Park 104, 1098 XG Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Cell Systems
|February 21, 2017
Summary
Embryonic development achieves remarkable consistency despite cellular variability. This study reveals how vulva induction in C. elegans canalizes variable cell positioning into a fixed developmental outcome.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cellular and Molecular Biology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Embryonic development exhibits high reproducibility despite inherent molecular variability in cells.
- Vulva induction in C. elegans involves an anchor cell inducing vulva precursor cells in a distance-dependent manner.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the mechanism of "canalization" in C. elegans vulva induction, where initial variability is reduced to achieve a consistent outcome.
- To understand how variable anchor cell positioning leads to reproducible cell fate induction.
Main Methods:
- Quantifying induction dynamics as a function of anchor cell position during the canalization process.
- Employing experimental approaches combined with mathematical modeling.
Main Results:
- Initial anchor cell position during C. elegans vulva induction is highly variable, leading to variability in cell fate induction.
- Vulva induction demonstrates canalization, progressively reducing variability in anchor cell position and cell fate.
- An invariant spatial pattern of cell fates is achieved by the end of induction.
Conclusions:
- Canalization in vulva induction requires a specific combination of long-range induction, lateral inhibition, and cell migration.
- The identified mechanisms of canalization are conserved and applicable to other developmental systems.
