During the development of an embryo, how is the function of a cell determined? How does a cell “know” it is supposed to, for example, become a nerve cell or part of the gut? How does it know its location within the embryo? How does the process happen?
**updated November 2025**
Sources:
*Kemphues, K. J., Priess, J. R., Morton, D. G., & Cheng, N. S. (1988). Identification of genes required for cytoplasmic localization in early C. elegans embryos. Cell, 52(3), 311-320.
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*Lesch, B. J., & Page, D. C. (2012). Genetics of germ cell development. Nature Reviews.Genetics, 13(11), 781-794.
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*Priess, J. R., Schnabel, H., & Schnabel, R. (1987). The glp-1 locus and cellular interactions in early C. elegans embryos. Cell, 51(4), 601-611.
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*Priess, J. R., & Thomson, J. N. (1987). Cellular interactions in early C. elegans embryos. Cell, 48(2), 241-250.
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*Tintori, S. C., Osborne Nishimura, E., Golden, P., Lieb, J. D., & Goldstein, B. (2016). A Transcriptional Lineage of the Early C. elegans Embryo. Developmental Cell, 38(4), 430-444.
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See also —
Caenorhabditis elegans: a model organism in Biology
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