Regulation and cell autonomy during postembryonic development of Caenorhabditis elegans.

The role of cell-cell interaction in the postembryonic development of nongonadal tissues in the nematode Caenorhabditis eleguns has been explored by selective cell ablation with a laser microbeam. Examples have been found of induction and of regulation in cell lineage and fate. Regulation in which one cell precisely or partially replaces another is seen, but only in certain groups of hypodermal cells which resemble one another closely; cells which are unique are not replaced in this way. The regulation of cell form is more widespread and less restrictive.