Figure 1
From: The DEAD-box protein MEL-46 is required in the germ line of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans
The C. elegans gonad and germline sex determination. (A) Schematic representation of the C. elegans adult hermaphrodite gonad and germ line. The gonad consists of two mirror imaged arms. The proximal ends and the vulva are on the ventral side and the syncycial distal portion is located dorsally. A signal from the somatic gonadal distal tip cell keeps the most distal germ line nuclei in mitosis. Nuclei that migrate towards the proximal part initiate meiosis, cellularize and differentiate into oocytes. The mature oocytes pass through the spermatheca where they are fertilized by sperm that had been produced earlier or that was deposited by a male. The embryos immediately initiate development and undergo the first few rounds of cell divisions in the uterus before they are deposited through the vulva. (B) Schematic and simplified genetic germline sex determination regulatory network. Arrows and T-bars represent positive and negative interactions, respectively. Capitalized gene names represent the proteins encoded by the respective genes.