Figure 1.
A B-LINK joins the uterine utse cell and epidermal seam cells in C. elegans. (A) A timeline of C. elegans development in h post-hatch showing developmental stages through peak egg-laying in adulthood. (B) A schematic of the utse–seam B-LINK in the young adult, just prior to egg-laying. At this time, a B-LINK connects the utse (magenta) to the epidermal seam cells (brown), which run along the sides of the animal (individual seam cells not shown). The utse underlies the uterus (blue). (C) The utse (visualized with cdh-3p::mCh::PH, magenta) and seam cells (scmp::GFP::CAAX, green) from (top) a ventral perspective and (middle) a lateral perspective. The known B-LINK matrix component hemicentin (C. elegans HIM-4) visualized from a lateral perspective (bottom; arrowheads indicate B-LINK localization) sits between the utse BM and seam cell BM. Integrin (αINA-1/βPAT-3) and plakin (VAB-10A) are also components of the B-LINK (schematic) and function in the utse. Scale bar, 10 µm.