Apoptosis promotes fertility in <i>C. elegans</i> by maintaining functional germline morphology.

ABSTRACT: Programmed cell death (apoptosis) during oogenesis is conserved across metazoans and linked to regulation of oocyte number and quality. In oogenic germlines, the removal of developing oocytes by apoptosis ensures that oocytes do not contain DNA damage or multiple nuclei. Beyond this chromatin-quality control assurance role, it was unknown how apoptosis contributes to oocyte quality. We used the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) to study the consequences of loss of apoptosis on oogenesis. Blocking apoptosis reduced fecundity in hermaphrodites at peak fertility and caused germline architectural defects such as abnormal rachis morphology and perturbed the arrangement and distribution of oogenic germline compartments. We posit that the defects associated with the loss

SUBMITTER: Saydee-Onwubiko UN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12633224 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature