Organogenesis of the C. elegans vulva and control of cell fusion

Abstract

The vulva of Caenorhabditis elegans is widely used as a paradigm for the study of organogenesis and is composed of seven toroids, formed by the migration of cells and the formation of homotypic contacts. Five of the toroids contain two or four nuclei and cell membrane fusion is one of the main driving forces during the morphogenesis of the vulva. The network of genes involved in the control of cell fusion during the formation of the vulva must determine which cells fuse and when. Especially during the formation of the vulval toroids, when those cells that fuse to form each ring, must not fuse with the neighbor cells, which form other separate rings. This is achieved through very fine control on the expression and function of several key genes.