Vulval development

"The C. elegans hermaphrodite vulva develops during postembryonic (larval) development from ventral epidermal precursors, and connects the developing uterus to the external environment. In the adult, the vulva is necessary for egg-laying (see Egg-laying) and for copulation with males (see Male mating behavior). Vulval development has attracted general interest for three main reasons. First, it serves as a paradigm for organogenesis. In particular, vulva development represents a well-understood case in which invariant development arises from multiple cell-cell interactions. It is also a striking example of tissue remodeling: the formation of a hole at a precise location in an organism. Second, it has been important for the genetic analyses of signaling and signal transduction by epidermal growth factor (EGF)-receptor LET-23 and RAS LET-60; (see RTKRas/MAP kinase signaling), LIN-12 (see LIN-12/Notch signaling in C. elegans), and WNT (see Wnt signaling), as well as the functions of the SynMuv and mediator proteins (see Transcriptional regulation). Third, it has become a paradigm for examining the interactions among regulatory pathways, notably the antagonism of EGF-receptor (LET-23) and Notch (LIN-12) pathways."

C. elegans的雌雄同体生殖器在胚胎后（幼虫）发育期间由腹侧表皮原基发育而来，并将发育中的子宫与外部环境相连接。在成年个体中，生殖器对于产卵（参见产卵）以及与雄性交配（参见雄性交配行为）至关重要。生殖器发育因其三个主要原因而引起了广泛关注。首先，它构成了器官发生的典范。特别是，生殖器发育是一个被充分理解的案例，其中不变发育源于多种细胞间的相互作用。它也是组织重塑的显著例证：在生物体精确位置形成孔洞。其次，它在表皮生长因子（EGF）受体LET-23和RAS LET-60；（参见RTKRas/MAP激酶信号传导）、LIN-12（参见C. elegans中的LIN-12/Notch信号传导）以及WNT（参见Wnt信号传导）的遗传分析中具有重要意义，以及SynMuv和介导蛋白的功能（参见转录调控）。第三，它已成为考察调节途径之间相互作用，尤其是EGF受体（LET-23）和Notch（LIN-12）途径拮抗的典范。