Stereotypical interciliary contacts in a <i>C. elegans</i> sense organ

exhibit interciliary contacts within a glia-defined channel. Here we show that these ciliary contact patterns are stereotyped and can be re-established in the adult in the absence of neighboring cilia, indicating that these associations may not simply reflect relative positioning within the amphid channel. We show that mutations in a subset of genes implicated in ciliary protein trafficking, ciliary membrane phospholipid composition, and cilia-cell interactions disrupt both cilia structure and interciliary contacts. However, in a subset of mutants, cilia with altered morphologies can nevertheless establish correct contacts, implying that these contacts may be established via a regulated process. Together, our findings suggest that cilia-cilia interactions within a sense organ are established via defined mechanisms and raise the possibility that cilia-mediated intercellular communication may modulate cellular functions.