Nematode embryo controls its tissue formation including both fate specification and structural organization at cellular level. Even though cell behaviors (e.g., cell differentiation and cell migration) an be traced and analyzed, the underlying regulatory mechanisms are still poorly understood. This work studies the upstream regulatory pathways of muscle-specific transcription factor hlh-1. We establish a statistical expression profiling of hlh-1 at single-cell resolution, with which we identify the hlh-1 expression phenotypes in 65 genes after RNA interference. Using public database about gene-gene, protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions, we further infer the potential pathways and candidate genes/proteins that regulate hlh-1 at embryonic, lineal and cellular levels. Tang Lab members Guoye Guan and Meichen Fang contribute euqally to this work as co-first authors; Ming-Kin Wong, Vincy Wing Sze Ho and Xiaomeng An (HKBU) conducted the experiment; Prof. Chao Tang, Prof. Zhongying Zhao (HKBU) and Dr. Xiaotai Huang (XDU) give supports and instructions on this project.
