Ahringer J
University of Cambridge, Department of Genetics, UK.
Development. 1997 Oct;124(19):3865-9. doi: 10.1242/dev.124.19.3865.
The transition from maternal to zygotic gene control is a key process in embryogenesis. Although many maternal effect genes have been studied in the C. elegans embryo, how their activities lead to the positional expression of zygotic patterning genes has not yet been established. Evidence is presented showing that expression of the zygotic patterning gene vab-7 does not depend on cell position or cell contacts, but rather on the production of a C blastomere. Furthermore, pal-1, a caudal homologue with maternal product necessary for the proper development of the C blastomere, is both necessary and sufficient for vab-7 expression. This provides a link between maternal gene activity and zygotic patterning gene expression in C. elegans. The results suggest that zygotic patterning genes might be generally controlled at the level of blastomere fate and not by position.
从母体基因控制向合子基因控制的转变是胚胎发育过程中的一个关键过程。尽管在秀丽隐杆线虫胚胎中已经对许多母体效应基因进行了研究，但它们的活性如何导致合子模式形成基因的位置表达尚未明确。本文提供的证据表明，合子模式形成基因vab-7的表达不依赖于细胞位置或细胞接触，而是依赖于C卵裂球的产生。此外，pal-1是一种尾型同源物，其母体产物是C卵裂球正常发育所必需的，对于vab-7的表达既必要又充分。这在秀丽隐杆线虫中建立了母体基因活性与合子模式形成基因表达之间的联系。结果表明，合子模式形成基因可能通常在卵裂球命运水平上受到控制，而不是由位置控制。
