title: Cytoplasmic determination and distribution of developmental potential in the embryo of Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans has been described completely on a cell-by-cell basis. In an invariant pattern five somatic founder cells and the primordial germ cell are generated within the first hour after the onset of cleavage. Using a laser microbeam for manipulation of individual blastomeres several aspects of early embryogenesis have been investigated, including the expression of cellular polarity, the localization of lineage-specific cleavage potential, the necessity for early cell-cell interaction, and the control of differential cell-cycle timing. The experiments demonstrate the central importance of a correct partitioning of cytoplasmic components during early embryogenesis and suggest a stepwise, binary segregation mechanism associated with the unequal cleavages in the germline.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Schierenberg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002107:Caenorhabditis / Q000196:embryology*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000502:physiology; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology