Genetic mosaics of Caenorhabditis elegans: a tissue-specific fluorescent mutant.

Genetic mosaics can be generated by x-irradiation in the simple nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. A mutation in the gene flu-3 alters the characteristic autofluorescence of intestinal cells under ultraviolet light and can be used as a cell- and tissue-specific marker. Embryos heterozygous for flu-3 give rise to adults with patches of these altered intestinal cells. The previously established intestinal cell lineage in Caenorhabditis elegans and the distribution and sizes of the fluorescent patches are consistent with a somatic segregation of the flu-3 allele.