SpringerProtocols: Abstract: 4. Cell Fusion in Caenorhabditis elegans

4. Cell Fusion in Caenorhabditis elegans

By: Scott Alper³, Benjamin Podbilewicz⁴

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In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, 300 of the 959 somatic nuclei present in the adult hermaphrodite are located in syncytia. These syncytia are formed by the fusion of mononucle-ate cells throughout embryonic and postembryonic development. These cell fusions occur in a well-characterized stereotypical pattern, allowing investigators to study many cell fusion events at the molecular and cellular levels. Using tools that allow visualization of cell membranes, cell junctions, and cell cytoplasm during fusion, genetic screens have identified many C. elegans cell fusion genes, including those that regulate the fusion cell fate decision and two genes that encode components of the cell fusion machinery.

Affiliation(s): (3) Laboratory of Respiratory Biology, NIEHS, NIH, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
(4) Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Department of Biology, Haifa, Israel

Book Title: Cell Fusion: Overviews and Methods

Series: Methods in Molecular Biology | Volume: 475 | Pub. Date: Jul-01-2008 | Page Range: 53-74 | DOI: 10.1007/978-1-59745-250-2_4

Subject: Cell Biology

Key Words: Caenorhabditis elegans - nematode - cell fusion - epidermis - uterus

References

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