The glp-1 locus and cellular interactions in early C. elegans embryos.

Interactions between the early blastomeres in a C. elegans embryo are required for the specification of certain cell fates. Blastomeres that produce neurons and skin cells when cultured in isolation are induced to also produce pharyngeal cells in intact embryos. We have identified maternal effect lethal mutations that, on the basis of phenotype and temperature-sensitive period, appear to disrupt this inductive interaction. These mutations are all alleles of glp-1, a gene also involved in the control of germ cell proliferation during postembryonic development of C. elegans.