Hi all,
I am badly need to know the exact cell number or nucleus number of c elegans in different stage. As I know the very early L1 is 558 cells after hatching but how does it grow up to 959 cells? In which stage it reaches 959cells?
Thanks for all!
The somatic cell number can be determined from the lineage (embryonic in Sulston et al, post-embryonic in Sulston And Horvitz and in Kimble And Hirsh; or you can find a complete, assembled version in either Worm Book (Worm II is supposed to be online but is not working for me at the moment). I’m sure the lineage is online elsewhere, but I have not readily found it. The last somatic cell divisions and cell deaths, which result in the final number of 959 somatic cells, occur relatively early in the L4 stage.
Note that the number of germ cells is not fixed. For this reason, you may find it necessary to use a mutant defective in germline proliferation if the total number of nuclei is important to you.
The complete lineage trees are available online at WormAtlas. Click the button labelled “Lineage Tree” on the left side of the front page.
In addition, you can read html versions of the two original papers from Sulston and Horvitz (1977) and Sulston et al (1983) describing the embryonic lineage and postembryonic lineage by scrolling down to the lower portion of the front page of WormAtlas. These key papers will help to explain the details. As Hillel mentions, from those lineages, the gradual change in total cell number can be explained or predicted.