EGL-15 (cN-14) Antibody: sc-9211

EGL-15 Background Information
Cell proliferation and development are carefully controlled in C. elegans, with each cell following a nearly invariant pattern of differentiation (1). Vulval development in particular provides a useful model for studying how cell fate is determined (1-3). Cell signaling pathways such as Notch and Ras pathways are critical for proper cell fate determination (2). LET-60, a member of the C. elegans Ras superfamily, coordinates with BAR-1, the beta-catenin homologue, and acts as a switch between vulval and hypodermal cell fates during the inductive signaling pathway that initiates vulva formation (4, 5). LET-23 is a tyrosine kinase receptor required for the induction of the C. elegans vulva, survival past the L1 stage, hermaphrodite fertility and for male spicule development (6). LET-23 is the homolog of the EGFR in C. elegans, and is preferentially localized to the basolateral membranes of the six vulval precursor cells (7). EGL-15 encodes a receptor tyrosine kinase of the fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) subfamily and is required for the normal cell migrations of the sex myoblasts in C. elegans (8).