Cell fate determination in the Caenorhabditis elegans epidermal lineages

The starting point for this work was to use the hypodermal seam of C. elegans as a model system to study cell fate determination. Even though the seam is a relatively simple developmental system, the mechanisms that control cell fate determination in the seam lineages are connected in a highly complex regulatory network. This work has yielded novel insight into the links between the patterning mechanisms at work during the development of the C. elegans epidermal lineages. The study of these mechanisms in C. elegans is relevant because it may ultimately lead to a better understanding of the role of evolutionarily conserved developmental regulators, such as the COMPASS complex, in human diseases such as cancer.