Cell biology of a specialized epithelium: regulation of the cellularizing C. elegans germline

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The generation of a polarized cell shape is important to govern cell function as it allows the production of different domains within that cell. Understanding this process is critical for cell biology, and the nematode C. elegans has become a key model system for the study of generation of polarity or assembly of protein complexes. We have begun to examine the regulation of the molecules that direct the growth and generation of an ordered progression of germ cells (oocytes) from a multinuclear mitotic syncytium. Two processes are particularly important: growth of the lateral membranes and control of the opening (ring canal) that connects the growing oocyte to the syncytium. Achieving this organization requires exquisite coordination between adjacent cells, regulation of contractility and generation of polarized domains of a cell de novo.