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P.206 3rd paragraph:"The entire cell lineage of development in Caenorhabditis elegans has been plotted (primary source). 671 cells are generated and 111 (in the male) or 113 (in the hermaphrodite) of these die at predictable times and sites. Development is conveneiently divided into two phases, a short period in which cell divisions are unequal, i.e. they generate daughters of different sizes, followed by a longer phase in which cell division in the lineage is equal. At the end of the first phase 6 founder cells are generated, termed AB, MS, E, C, D, and P4. The cells generated in these six lineages make different contributions to the various organ systems, e.g. the intestine is formed exclusively by the E lineage, but other parts of the alimentary tract are formed by cells in the AB and MS lineage: the P4 lineage generates the germ cells and the somatic element of the gonad comes from the MS lineage. The composition of the Caenorhabditis embryo, together with the distribution of cell deaths in the lineages is given in Table 9.1." See notes beneath table |