In wild-type worms, the relative
unc-85 mRNA expression, determined by qRT-PCR, gradually increases during development. A 25-fold increase in expression in young adults is observed, probably reflecting proliferation of the germline and in utero early embryonic cell divisions. Relatively high expression is also observed in embryos (10-fold higher than in L1/L2). These results suggest that normal
unc-85 expression correlates with cell proliferation throughout development. Expression from all three
unc-85 mutant backgrounds remains low during development.