The cuticle surrounding the main body of the animal can be sub-divided into the broad dorsal and ventral regions overlying The old cuticle is removed by molting ( Singh and Sulston, 1978). Thus, with the exception of the first round of synthesis, synthesis occurs underneath an existing cuticle and requires itsĭisplacement from the membrane surface prior to, or concurrent with, secretion and polymerization of the new cuticle (seeįigure 1). Synthesis occurs five times during development, once in the embryo, then prior to molting at the end of each larval stage.
Of the membranes where it remains in intimate contact as the mature cuticle. During synthesis, material is secreted from the apical membranes of the hypodermis, then polymerizes on the outer surface The hypodermis that surrounds the body of the animal (see Figure 1). The cuticle is a collagenous extracellular matrix (ECM) that is synthesized by an underlying ectodermal cell layer termed Mutations in individual collagen genes and their biosynthetic pathwayĬomponents can result in a range of defects from abnormal morphology (dumpy and blister) to embryonic and larval death, confirmingĪn essential role for this structure and highlighting its potential as an ECM experimental model system.ĭuring post-embryonic development, Caenorhabditis elegans is enclosed within an exoskeleton called the cuticle ( Cox et al., 1981b Cox et al., 1981c Kramer, 1994 Johnstone, 1994 Kramer, 1997). In turn are catalysed by specific enzymes and chaperones. Cuticle collagenīiosynthesis involves numerous co- and post-translational modification, processing, secretion and cross-linking steps that The cuticleĬollagens are encoded by a large gene family that are subject to strict patterns of temporal regulation. Of cross-linked collagens, additional insoluble proteins termed cuticlins, associated glycoproteins and lipids.
It is a highly structured extra-cellular matrix (ECM), composed predominantly It is synthesised five times, once in the embryo and subsequentlyĪt the end of each larval stage prior to molting. The nematode cuticle is an extremely flexible and resilient exoskeleton that permits locomotion via attachment to muscle,Ĭonfers environmental protection and allows growth by molting.
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