Semaphorin and Eph receptor signaling guide a series of cell movements for ventral enclosure in C. elegans.

Background: In the last stage of the Caenorhabditis elegans body wall closure, an open pocket in the epidermis is closed by the migration of marginal epidermal P/pocket cells to the ventral midline. The cellular and molecular mechanisms of this closure remain unknown.

Results: Cells within the pocket align to form a bridge for migration of contralateral P cell pair P9/10 L,R (and neighboring P cells) to the midline.