Morphologically defined substages of tail morphogenesis in C. elegans males.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Sex-specific morphogenesis occurs in Caenorhabditis elegans in the vulva of the hermaphrodite and in the male tail during the last larval stage. Temporal progression of vulva morphogenesis has been described in fine detail. However, a similar precise description of male tail morphogenesis was lacking.

Results

We here describe morphogenesis of the male tail at time points matching vulva development with special focus on morphogenesis of the tail tip. Using fluorescent reporters, we follow changes in cell shapes, cell fusions, nuclear migration, modifications in the basement membrane, and formation of a new apical extracellular matrix at the end of the tail.

Conclusion

Our analysis answers two open questions about tail tip morphogenesis (TTM) by showing that

SUBMITTER: Kiontke K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11611696 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature