[
West Coast Worm Meeting,
2004]
The linker cell (LC) is a sex-specific cell that leads the migration of the elongating gonad in the male. This stereotypic migration begins on the ventral bodywall in the anterior direction and undergoes a series of turns along the bodywall to connect the proximal end of the gonad to the developing proctodeum in the posterior region of the animal. I am interested in understanding the cell biology of the migration of the LC. Experiments involving either the ablation of cells neighboring the LC or the ectopic expression of extra LCs 1 have shown that the LC alone is capable of migrating. In order to identify genes involved in LC migration, I have performed a pilot screen of approximately 200 genes using the RNAi feeding strains to look for defects in the male gonad. One gene identified to function in the LC is R07E5.3, a homolog of SNF5/INI1, which is a component of the SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complex in many species. 1. Sternberg, P.W. and Horvitz, H.R. Dev Biol. 1988, 130: 67-73.