Fig. 6

SUP-46 prevents mating-dependent germline mortality in hermaphrodites. a Adult sup-46 mutant hermaphrodites had a defect in oogenesis that developed after multiple generations of mating. In wildtype, oocytes were seen in the proximal germline (arrow), while in a sup-46 mutant mated for five or more generations, oocytes failed to develop (arrow). b Beginning at generation 5, sup-46 hermaphrodites mated with sibling males (sib-mated) began to show sterility within the population. Unmated (selfed) sup-46 hermaphrodites did not exhibit a progressive increase in sterility, and sib-mated glh-1(ok439) mutants showed only a very modest increase in sterility. Error bars represent ± SD (n = 6). c sup-46 mutant unmated hermaphrodites exposed to csr-1(RNAi) for two generations had a large increase in sterility of the population, compared with sup-46 mutants exposed to control RNAi [mtv(RNAi)], wildtype exposed to csr-1(RNAi), or mutants and wildtype exposed to csr-1(RNAi) for only a single generation. For the second generation, mutant and wildtype hermaphrodites were exposed to csr-1(RNAi) in the first generation. Hatched line and error bars are the mean ± SD. ns, not significantly different (P > 0.05)