WormMine: ExpressionPattern Expr16522

• Pattern: Interestingly, when imaging the FOLR-1::mNeonGreen-strain at the L4 larval stage, we found that FOLR-1 can only be detected in a few cells close to the vulva. Notably, the single-cell resolution atlas of gene activity of young adult C. elegans (WormSeq application) revealed that folr-1 mRNA is expressed at least in uterine-vulval cells, dorsal uterine cell and the RIS neuron. By comparing the expression profile of FOLR-1::mNeonGreen with the structural anatomy of the C. elegans reproductive system, we found that FOLR-1 can be detected at least in uterine-vulval cells. There are three types of uterine-vulval cells (uv-1-3), which form a multilayered set of flaps that bind the ventral uterus to the dorsalmost ring of the vulva. The expression in uterine-vulval cells becomes visible at the late L4 stage when the vulval lumen begins to narrow. The FOLR-1::mNeonGreen signal reaches its strongest level when the vulval lumen closes at the transition from the late L4 stage to the young adult stage. On the contrary to the late L4 stage, the FOLR-1::mNeonGreen signal cannot be detected at mid-L4 stage. Furthermore, the FOLR-1::mNeonGreen signal is gone in most of the gravid day 1 adults, demonstrating that FOLR-1 is expressed in a developmental stage-specific manner. Together, these assays (single-cell RNA-seq and imaging of the FOLR-1::mNeonGreen-expressing strain) demonstrate that FOLR-1 can only be detected in a few cell types. However, it is noteworthy that FOLR-1 can also be expressed in other tissues (such as the RIS neuron), but the sensitivity of FOLR-1::mNeonGreen may not be sufficient to detect it at low levels.
• Primary Identifier: Expr16522

1 Anatomy Terms

Definition	Name	Synonym	Primary Identifier
monoucleate interfacial cell between the uterus and vulva (uv1-uv3), four sets total (L/R, A/P)	uterine-vulval cell	uv cell	WBbt:0006790

1 Genes

WormBase Gene ID	Gene Name	Sequence Name	Organism
WBGene00007648	folr-1	C17G1.1	Caenorhabditis elegans

1 Life Stages

Remark	Definition	Other Name	Public Name	Primary Identifier
	The fourth stage larva. At 25 Centigrade, it ranges 40-49.5 hours after fertilization, 26-35.5 hours after hatch.		L4 larva Ce	WBls:0000038