Problem

Vulval development in C. elegans begins when twc neighboring cells (Z1.ppp and Z4.aaa) i...

Vulval development in C. elegans begins when twc neighboring cells (Z1.ppp and Z4.aaa) interact with each other by cell-cell signaling involving two components: a membrane-bound signal molecule and a membrane-bound receptor. By chance, one cell produces more signal, which in turn, causes its neighbor to produce more receptor. The cell producing more signal becomes the anchor cell, and the cell producing more receptor becomes the ventral uterine cell. This form of cell-cell interaction is called the Notch/ Delta signaling system. Although it is a widely used signal-ing mechanism in metazoans, this pathway works only in adjacent cells. Why is this so, and what are the advantages and disadvantages of such a system?

¦ H I NT: This problem involves an understanding of how adjacent cell-cell signaling systems work. The key to its solution is recognizing the dynamic interactions between signal and receptor systems in this form of cell-cell signaling.

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