Note to users. If you're seeing this message, it means that your browser cannot find this page's style/presentation instructions -- or possibly that you are using a browser that does not support current Web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing, and what you can do to make your experience of our site the best it can be.

Sci. STKE, 29 November 2005
Vol. 2005, Issue 312, p. tw426
[DOI: 10.1126/stke.3122005tw426]

EDITORS' CHOICE

DEVELOPMENT Cell Fate Specification in the Worm

Early in the development of the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans, the vulva is composed of six precursor cells that have the potential to develop into one of three vulval cell fates, termed 1°, 2°, and 3°. The 1° and 2° fates are patterned through the cross-talk between two signaling pathways, the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway and the LIN-12/Notch pathway. Yoo and Greenwald (see the Perspective by Karp and Ambros) now show that a specific microRNA (miRNA), identified by a computational prediction analysis, is involved in specifying the 2° vulval cell fate. The miRNA mir-60 is a direct transcriptional target of LIN-12/Notch, and in turn, an ortholog of the oncogene Vav is the target of mir-60. The regulatory circle is completed by the regulation of LIN-12 activity by Vav.

A. S. Yoo, I. Greenwald, LIN-12/Notch activation leads to microRNA-mediated down-regulation of Vav in C. elegans. Science 310, 1330-1333 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]

X. Karp, V. Ambros, Encountering microRNAs in cell fate signaling. Science 310, 1288-1289 (2005). [Summary] [Full Text]

Citation: Cell Fate Specification in the Worm. Sci. STKE 2005, tw426 (2005).

To Advertise     Find Products

Science Signaling. ISSN 1937-9145 (online), 1945-0877 (print). Pre-2008: Science's STKE. ISSN 1525-8882