Sternberg P W, Horvitz H R
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena 91125.
Cell. 1989 Aug 25;58(4):679-93. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(89)90103-7.
Each of the six C. elegans vulval precursor cells (VPCs) has three potential fates (1 degree, 2 degrees, or 3 degrees). The fate of each VPC depends on two types of signals: a graded inductive signal that acts at a distance and a short-range lateral signal among the VPCs. We describe interactions among mutations that cause different misspecifications of VPC fates. Particular combinations of mutations cause all six VPCs to have a single fate independent of their positions. Our results suggest that specification of the three VPC fates is accomplished by two binary decisions, each effected by one of the two signaling pathways. The gene lin-12 acts in the lateral signaling pathway and specifies 2 degrees. The "vulvaless" and "multivulva" genes act in the inductive signaling pathway and specify 1 degree independently of lin-12 and 2 degrees via lin-12. We describe a model for the regulatory circuitry underlying VPC determination that includes a role for lin-12 in both autocrine and paracrine VPC signaling.
秀丽隐杆线虫的六个外阴前体细胞（VPC）中的每一个都有三种潜在命运（1级、2级或3级）。每个VPC的命运取决于两种信号：一种在一定距离起作用的梯度诱导信号和VPC之间的短程侧向信号。我们描述了导致VPC命运不同错误指定的突变之间的相互作用。特定的突变组合会使所有六个VPC具有单一命运，而与其位置无关。我们的结果表明，三种VPC命运的指定是通过两个二元决策完成的，每个决策由两条信号通路之一影响。基因lin-12在侧向信号通路中起作用并指定2级。“无外阴”和“多外阴”基因在诱导信号通路中起作用，并独立于lin-12指定1级，通过lin-12指定2级。我们描述了一个VPC确定基础调控电路的模型，该模型包括lin-12在自分泌和旁分泌VPC信号传导中的作用。
