RT Journal
A1 Murray, John Isaac
A1 Boyle, Thomas J.
A1 Preston, Elicia
A1 Vafeados, Dionne
A1 Mericle, Barbara
A1 Weisdepp, Peter
A1 Zhao, Zhongying
A1 Bao, Zhirong
A1 Boeck, Max
A1 Waterston, Robert H.
T1 Multidimensional regulation of gene expression in the C. elegans embryo
JF Genome Research 
JO Genome Research 
YR 2012 
FD July 01 
VO 22 
IS 7 
SP 1282 
OP 1294 
DO 10.1101/gr.131920.111 
UL http://genome.cshlp.org/content/22/7/1282.abstract 
AB How cells adopt different expression patterns is a fundamental question of developmental biology. We quantitatively measured reporter expression of 127 genes, primarily transcription factors, in every cell and with high temporal resolution in C. elegans embryos. Embryonic cells are highly distinct in their gene expression; expression of the 127 genes studied here can distinguish nearly all pairs of cells, even between cells of the same tissue type. We observed recurrent lineage-regulated expression patterns for many genes in diverse contexts. These patterns are regulated in part by the TCF-LEF transcription factor POP-1. Other genes' reporters exhibited patterns correlated with tissue, position, and left–right asymmetry. Sequential patterns both within tissues and series of sublineages suggest regulatory pathways. Expression patterns often differ between embryonic and larval stages for the same genes, emphasizing the importance of profiling expression in different stages. This work greatly expands the number of genes in each of these categories and provides the first large-scale, digitally based, cellular resolution compendium of gene expression dynamics in live animals. The resulting data sets will be a useful resource for future research.