Research

The C. elegans pharynx  functions to draw in food (bacteria) from the environment and initiate digestion. The pharynx is composed of only 80 cells, but these cells differ with respect to their histories (arising from two different blastomeres, ABa and MS) and their ultimate identities (becoming one of five distinct cell types within the pharynx). The diversity of cells within the pharynx is revealed in part by the distinct expression patterns of pharyngeal genes. One of our goals is to understand how these different expression patterns are generated in the pharynx, as a means of understanding pharyngeal development. 
Our work to date has focused on genes expressed in the pharyngeal glands (illustrated by a gland-specific GFP below). Through a combination of bioinformatic, molecular and genetic analyses, we found that the expression of many gland-specific genes is critically dependent on the transcription factor HLH-6. Interestingly, loss of HLH-6 results in the loss of some pharyngeal glands indicating that HLH-6 has a role in gland specification. 

Current Work

1. Identifying additional regulators of gland development. These regulators may function with or in parallel to HLH-6.
2. Determining the function of pharyngeal glands. Current data indicates that the glands are required for normal growth of C. elegans though the basis of this defect is not known.
3. Examining the regulation of other cell-type specific pharyngeal genes. Little is known about the specification of other pharyngeal cell types, such as the marginal cells (bottom left) or pm6 muscles (bottom right).