Transcriptional Control of Cell Fate Within the MS lineage in C. elegans

Our primary goal is to find the network of transcription factors that control the formation of bodywall muscle and other cells from the time just after fertilization and throughout subsequent embryogenesis. The process of cell fate determination typically involves a series of cell division in which totipotent stem cells become progressively restricted in fate potential. To understand bodywall muscle cell (analogous to skeletal muscle in vertebrates) fate specification, it is suitable to use C. elegans as a model system. The current study is primary focusing on bodywall muscle cell development from the anterior blastomere MS lineage and is found the network of transcription factors for bodywall muscle cell specification from transcriptional profiling from genetically manipulated embryo. Wild type (N2) hermaphrodite worms are injected with mex-1, lit-1 and pal-1 dsRNA (~300 ng/ml each) and incubated at room temprarture for >12 hours before collecting embryos.Embryos at embryonic two- to four-cell stages from dsRNA injected hermaphrodite are isolated and incubated to different time points (0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 hours post collection). A total 15 samples were analyzed. Triplicate, independent samples at each developmental time point were used for expression microarray analysis.