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bioRxiv · 10.1101/282004

DevoWorm: data-theoretical synthesis of C. elegansdevelopment.

Alicea, B. J.·Gordon, R.·Portegys, T. E.
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Abstract

Biological development is often described as a dynamic, emergent process. This is evident across a variety of phenomena, from the temporal organization of cell types in the embryo to compounding trends that affect large-scale differentiation. To better understand this, we propose combining quantitative investigations of biological development with theory-building techniques. This provides an alternative to the gene-centric view of development: namely, the view that developmental genes and their expression determine the complexity of the developmental phenotype. Using the model system Caenorhabditis elegans, we examine time-dependent properties of the embryonic phenotype and utilize the unique life-history properties to demonstrate how these emergent properties can be linked together by data analysis and theory-building. We also focus on embryogenetic differentiation processes, and how terminally-differentiated cells contribute to structure and function of the adult phenotype. Examining embryogenetic dynamics from 200 to 400 minutes post-fertilization provides basic quantitative information on developmental tempo and process. To summarize, theory construction techniques are summarized and proposed as a way to rigorously interpret our data. Our proposed approach to a formal data representation that can provide critical links across life-history, anatomy and function.

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Alicea, B. J., Gordon, R., Portegys, T. E.. 2018-03-14. DevoWorm: data-theoretical synthesis of C. elegansdevelopment.. https://doi.org/10.1101/282004

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