Binucleate germ cells in Caenorhabditis elegans are removed by physiological apoptosis.

ABSTRACT: Cell death plays a major role during C. elegans oogenesis, where over half of the oogenic germ cells die in a process termed physiological apoptosis. How germ cells are selected for physiological apoptosis, or instead become oocytes, is not understood. Most oocytes produce viable embryos when apoptosis is blocked, suggesting that physiological apoptosis does not function to cull defective germ cells. Instead, cells targeted for apoptosis may function as nurse cells; the germline is syncytial, and all germ cells appear to contribute cytoplasm to developing oocytes. C. elegans has been a leading model for the genetics and molecular biology of apoptosis and phagocytosis, but comparatively few studies have examined the cell biology of apoptotic cells. We used live imaging to identify and exami

SUBMITTER: Raiders SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6053125 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature