Meeting Abstract

P1.125  Friday, Jan. 4  The evolution of anchor cell invasion during rhabditid nematode vulval development CHANG, E*; YANG, M; SHERWOOD, DR; MATUS, DQ; Duke University; Duke University; Duke University; Duke University emily.chang@duke.edu

Cell invasion through basement membrane (BM) is a complex yet fundamental phenomenon essential for biological processes such as mammalian embryo implantation, leukocyte migration, and tumor metastasis. To understand the mechanisms guiding BM invasion we are using a simple model of cell invasion that occurs during the larval development of the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. To form the uterine-vulval connection, a specialized somatic gonadal cell, the anchor cell (AC), invades through the underlying uterine and ventral epidermal BM to contact the vulval precursor cells (VPCs). Like many developmental events in C. elegans, AC invasion is a tightly regulated process with little intra-specific variation. Despite the extensive work on vulval development in other non-model nematode species, little is known about how or whether the AC connects the developing uterine and vulval tissues in other species. We are interested in determining if the role of the AC in initiating the uterine-vulval connection is conserved across nematode species. Using DIC optics and laser ablation we have examined AC invasion in 16 nematode species representing several hundred million years of rhabditid nematode evolution. We find little morphological diversity in the timing and requirement of the AC to initiate the uterine-vulval connection, with one notable exception; during Oscheius tipulae vulval development, the AC invades one VPC division earlier. Given the plasticity of other aspects of nematode vulval development (e.g., induction, cell fate and patterning), it appears that AC invasion is under strong selective pressure to ensure a stable uterine-vulval connection.