ALG-1, a microRNA argonaute, promotes vulva induction in .

Signaling by the LET-60 Ras GTPase/ MPK-1 Extracellular Regulated Kinase pathway specifies the vulva cell fate in . The miRNA family negatively regulates LET-60 Ras but other miRNAs can also modulate vulva induction. To determine the impact of globally reducing miRNA function on LET-60 Ras-mediated vulva induction we analyzed the effect of loss of the ALG-1 miRNA regulator on vulva development Contrary to our expectations, we find that ALG-1 promotes vulva induction independently of LET-60 Ras. We found that the reduced vulva cell fate induction of deletion mutants could be due to delayed development of the vulva, or a requirement to maintain the competence of the uninduced precursor cells.