PATTERNING C-ELEGANS - HOMEOTIC CLUSTER GENES, CELL FATES AND CELL MIGRATIONS

Despite its simple body form, the nematode C. elegans expresses homeot ic cluster genes similar to those of insects and vertebrates in the pa tterning of many cell types and tissues along the anteroposterior axis . In the ventral nerve cord these genes program spatial patterns of ce ll death fusion, division and neurotransmitter production; in migratin g cells they regulate the direction and extent of movement. Nematode d evelopment permits an analysis at the cellular level of how homeotic c luster genes interact to specify cell fates, and how cell behavior can be regulated to assemble an organism.