Early Worm

During development, genes switch 'on' or 'off', like buttons pressed on a control panel, with specific patterns needed at different points in time. Transcription factors (TFs) are the button pressers – proteins which respond to the outside world by controlling which genes the cell 'reads', ultimately guiding a cell’s destiny. TFs often work together, overlapping in which genes, proteins and processes they control. Investigating one of these collaborations in a simpler organism – the transparent worm Caenorhabditis elegans, researchers look for clues that might have parallels in human development. Here, in images at different depths through the worm, two TFs, Schnurri and SMAD work together to help deliver collagen (artificially coloured magenta here) from tissue deep inside the skin (yellow) to the outer ‘cuticle’, which helps to shape the worm’s body. Examining where (and when) human versions of these transcription factors cooperate could provide vital clues to our own early development.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image from work by Mehul Vora and Jonathan Dietz, and colleagues
• Waksman Institute, Department of Genetics, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Research published in eLife, January 2025