title: Evolution of cell lineage.
abstract: Organisms such as nematodes and mollusks, the development of which involves fixed cell lineages, allow studies of the genetic programming of precision and of evolution of its flexibility. Stochastic specification of cell fate may evolve to a fixed cell lineage and specification by cell interactions to autonomous specification. Comparative developmental studies also shed light on the evolution of asymmetry.
authors.affiliation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute, California Institute of Technology Biology, Pasadena 91125, USA. pws@cco.caltech.edu
authors.forename: P W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Sternberg
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Félix
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology* / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D009024:Morphogenesis; D014844:Vulva / Q000196:embryology