Elongation

actin magenta AJM-1 green — An elongating *C. elegans* embryo expressing AJM-1::GFP (green) and stained for F-actin using phalloidin (red) [Abbi Cox].

Morphogenesis requires that cells make strong connections with one another. We are studying how two complexes, the cadherin complex and the DLG-1/AJM-1 complex are regulated during morphogenesis.

Elongation involves actomyosin mediated contraction of the epidermal cells, transmitted through cell-cell junctions. Junctional actin networks must remodel during this process. We are studying actin-binding proteins that mediate this “self-healing” response to cell shape change. These include protein with LIM-domain containing repeats (LCR protein, including zyxin and Tes). For recent work, see Lynch,, Zhu et al (2022). Curr. Biol., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.045.

tes-1 and zyx-1 — Zyxin (green, in dorsal and ventral epidermal cells) and Tes (magenta, in lateral, i.e., seam, epidermal cells) in an elongating embryo. From Lynch,, Zhu et al (2022). *Curr. Biol*., https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.10.045.