A posterior centre establishes and maintains polarity of the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo by a Wnt-dependent relay mechanism.

ABSTRACT: Cellular polarity is a general feature of animal development. However, the mechanisms that establish and maintain polarity in a field of cells or even in the whole embryo remain elusive. Here we provide evidence that in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo, the descendants of P1, the posterior blastomere of the 2-cell stage, constitute a polarising centre that orients the cell divisions of most of the embryo. This polarisation depends on a MOM-2/Wnt signal originating from the P1 descendants. Furthermore, we show that the MOM-2/Wnt signal is transduced from cell to cell by a relay mechanism. Our findings suggest how polarity is first established and then maintained in a field of cells. According to this model, the relay mechanism constantly orients the polarity of all cells towards the polari

SUBMITTER: Bischoff M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1637133 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature