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An inversion in the wiring of an intercellular signal: evolution of Wnt signaling in the nematode vulva
Author(s) -
Félix MarieAnne
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
bioessays
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.175
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1521-1878
pISSN - 0265-9247
DOI - 10.1002/bies.20275
Subject(s) - wnt signaling pathway , biology , caenorhabditis elegans , nematode , signal transduction , microbiology and biotechnology , intracellular , repertoire , evolutionary biology , genetics , ecology , gene , physics , acoustics
Signal transduction pathways are largely conserved throughout the animal kingdom. The repertoire of pathways is limited and each pathway is used in different intercellular signaling events during the development of a given animal. For example, Wnt signaling is recruited, sometimes redundantly with other molecular pathways, in four cell specification events during Caenorhabditis elegans vulva development, including the activation of vulval differentiation. Strikingly,a recent study finds that Wnts act to repress vulval differentiation in the nematode Pristionchus pacificus ,1 demonstrating evolutionary flexibility in the use of intercellular signaling pathways. BioEssays 27:765–769, 2005. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.