The circuitous path to adulthood

Micrographs of worms with precocious LIN-29 accumulation, which causes inappropriately early skin progenitor cell fusion. "Our work helps to understand the regulatory logic of a deeply conserved timing mechanism and could guide its experimental dissection in mammals." Helge Grosshans Research Overview Research Areas Scientific Publications Awards & Honors Partnerships Research Groups Overview Epigenetics Quantitative Biology Neurobiology Former Group Leaders Technology Platforms Overview C. elegans Facility Cell Sorting (FACS) Computional Biology Facility for Advanced Imaging and Microscopy Functional Genomics Proteomics & Protein Analysis Education & Careers Overview PhD & MD-PhD Programs Postdoctoral Activities Teaching Open Positions Working at the FMI Equality & Diversity Living in Basel Alumni About Overview FMI at a Glance Organization & Leadership Scientific Advisory Board History Contact News & Events Overview News Resources Seminars & Events 2020 © FMI Basel Switzerland About this site Extranet (FMI only) - Genes that time the transition to adulthood are well-studied in the roundworm C. elegans, and at least partially conserved in mammals, where they regulate the onset of puberty. Juvenile worms turn into adults when a protein called LIN-29 accumulates in sufficient amounts. By studying two variants of LIN-29, the group of Helge Grosshans reveals that temporal coordination of events during the transition to adulthood involves a branched pathway rather than a linear chain of events.