Notch signaling in the C. elegans embryo.

Cell-cell interactions mediated by the Notch signaling pathway occur throughout C. elegans embryogenesis. These interactions have major roles in specifying cell fates and in tissue morphogenesis. The network of Notch interactions is linked in part through the Notch-regulated expression of components of the pathway, allowing one interaction to pattern subsequent ones. The Notch signal transduction pathway is highly conserved in animal embryogenesis. The REF-1 family of bHLH transcription factors are major targets of Notch signaling in the C. elegans embryo, and are distantly related to HES proteins that are targets of Notch signaling in Drosophila and vertebrates.