Heterochronic gene regulation of development (Caenorhabditis elegans)

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The heterochronic pathway, regulating larval development in Caenorhabditis elegans, is shown. Caenorhabditis elegans is a good model for studying heterochronic genes,due to its invariant cell lineages.

Heterochronic is associated with the development of cells or tissues at a "different" time relative to other developmental events. Changes in developmental timing are thought to be a driving force of morphological evolution.

Regulatory relationships shown here are supported by genetic data, but not all are direct. Lin-42 is not shown, as its complex expression pattern and genetic interactions suggest that it acts at multiple steps through out the pathways, making its precise placement difficult. In the absence of ligand DAF-12 represses let-7 family miRNAs.

Arrows indicate activation - Bars indicate repression.