Cell Lineage Analysis: Videomicroscopy Techniques

Complete or partial embryonic cell lineages are available for several animal model systems. In the case of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans , the entire embryonic cell lineage has been determined and is largely invariant (1 ). This makes lineage analysis a potentially useful tool for assessing mutant phenotypes in C. elegans . Indeed, lineage analysis of some mutants has shown that one cell can be transformed into a different cell resulting in duplication or absence of certain tissues (2 ,3 ) (Fig. 1 ).