Work

Genetic Control of Programmed Cell Death During Animal Development

Year: 2009

Type: review

Abstract: The elimination of unwanted cells by programmed cell death is a common feature of animal development. Genetic studies in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, and the mouse have not only revealed the molecular machineries that cause the programmed demise of specific cells, but have also allowed us to get a glimpse of the types of pathways that regulate these machineries during development. Rather than serving as a broad overview of programmed cell death during development, this review focuses on recent advances in our understanding of the regulation of specific programmed cell death events during nematode, fly, and mouse development. Recent studies have revealed that many of the regulatory pathways involved play additional important roles in development, which confirms that the programmed cell death fate is an integral aspect of animal development.

Source: Annual Review of Genetics

DOI: 10.1146/annurev.genet.42.110807.091533

Author: Barbara Conradt

Institution: Dartmouth College

Language: English

Topic: Cell death mechanisms and regulation

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Lomonosov Moscow State University, National Institute of General Medical Sciences

Awards: Analysis of Cell Death Regulation in C. elegans, Regulation and role of dynamin-related GTPases in C. elegans apoptosis