Ferguson E L, Sternberg P W, Horvitz H R
Nature. 1987;326(6110):259-67. doi: 10.1038/326259a0.
Twenty-three genes have been assigned to particular steps in a genetic pathway for the specification of the vulval cell lineages of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Mutations in most of these genes cause homoeotic transformations in the fates of individual cells, suggesting that these lineages may be specified by a series of decisions that distinguish between alternative cell fates. Fifteen of the genes function in a system involved in the intracellular response to the extracellular signal that induces vulval formation.
二十三个基因已被指定参与线虫秀丽隐杆线虫外阴细胞谱系特化的遗传途径中的特定步骤。这些基因中的大多数发生突变会导致单个细胞命运的同源异型转变，这表明这些谱系可能由一系列区分不同细胞命运的决定所特化。其中十五个基因在一个参与细胞内对外源信号（诱导外阴形成）反应的系统中发挥作用。
