Wnt signaling and an APC-related gene specify endoderm in early C. elegans embryos

Christian E. Rocheleau, William D. Downs, Rueyling Lin, Claudia Wittmann, Yanxia Bei, Yoon Hee Cha, Mussa Ali, James R. Priess, Craig C. Mello

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

547 Scopus citations

Abstract

In a 4-cell stage C. elegans embryo, signaling by the P2 blastomere induces anterior-posterior polarity in the adjacent EMS blastomere, leading to endoderm formation. We have taken genetic and reverse genetic approaches toward understanding the molecular basis for this induction. These studies have identified a set of genes with sequence similarity to genes that have been shown to be, or are implicated in, Wnt/ Wingless signaling pathways in other systems. The C. elegans genes described here are related to wnt/ wingless, porcupine, frizzled, β-catenin/armadillo, and the human adenomatous polyposis coli gene, APC. We present evidence that there may be partially redundant inputs into endoderm specification and that a subset of these genes appear also to function in determining cytoskeletal polarity in certain early blastomeres.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)707-716
Number of pages10
JournalCell
Volume90
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 22 1997

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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