The maternal-to-zygotic transition in embryonic patterning of Caenorhabditis elegans.
Maternal factors laid down in the oocyte regulate blastomere identities in the early Caenorhabditis elegans embryo by activating zygotic patterning genes and restricting their expression to the appropriate lineages. A number of early-acting zygotic genes that specify various cell fates have been identified recently and their temporal and spatial regulation by maternal factors has begun to be elucidated.
Newman-Smith
E D
ED
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, University of California-Santa Barbara 93106, USA. newman@lifesci.lscf.ucsb.edu
Rothman
J H
JH
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics; D004707:Endoderm; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015053:Zygote