Angelle Philip, Sana Shehzad, Maria Fitian and Mishal Razi

Abstract:

Signaling proteins can affect cell migration and organismal development. Previous studies have shown that signaling proteins are necessary for development of the body, defense mechanisms, and cell-cell interactions. To understand the role of signaling proteins specifically in the mesoblast lineage of C. elegans, RNAi was used to deplete proteins in the RTK/Ras/MAPK (sem-5, sos-1, let-60), notch (lin-12, dsl-1, lag-2, apx-1), and heparan sulfate (kal-1, ptp-3, slt-1) pathways. L4 animals were then scored for phenotypes and young adults for brood size. The data showed that specifically with depletion within the mesoblast lineage, interference with sem-5 and kal-1 led to an egg laying deficient (egl) phenotype.These data suggest that signaling pathways can influence C. elegans embryo-laying mechanisms. Future studies will include further RNAi experimentation of corresponding genes and combinatorial experiments, paired with imaging.