Consistent with the observed
pad-2 RNAi phenotypes,
pad-2 expression starts during the morphogenetic period of embryonic development. At this stage it was detectable in the anterior part of the embryos, in the hypodermal and neuronal cells of the head. After the animal hatched,
pad-2 was expressed at different levels in a variety of cell types, including neuronal, hypodermal, muscle, intestinal, and somatic gonadal cells. PAD-2::GFP accumulation was most intense in the nerve ring around the pharynx, in the dorsal and ventral nerve cords, in the intestine, and in a variety of hypodermal cells of the L1 to L3-stage larvae. In adult hermaphrodites, gonadal sheath cells, spermatheca, and tissues surrounding the vulva showed intense
pad-2 expression. PAD-2::GFP was also expressed in the body wall muscle and hypodermal cells in both sexes.