RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 A Waddington Epigenetic Landscape for the C. elegans embryo JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2020.01.01.892414 DO 10.1101/2020.01.01.892414 A1 Ahmed Elewa YR 2020 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/01/02/2020.01.01.892414.abstract AB Waddington’s Epigenetic Landscape provides a visual model for both robust and adaptable development. Generating and exploring a Waddington epigenetic landscape for the early C. elegans embryo suggests that the key shapers of the landscape are genes that lie at the nexus between stress response and behavior and include genes that are regulated by transgenerational neuronal small RNAs. Curiously, several genes shape the early landscape of one lineage and then pattern, differentiate or are enriched in another lineage. Additionally, paralogs with similar expression profiles contribute differently to shaping the modeled landscape. This work suggests that robust embryonic development is initialized by differential deployment of redundant genes and by transgenerational cues that configure the epigenetic landscape to adapt to a changing world.