Figure 4.

pam-1 and wee-1.3 interact during oocyte maturation. Oocytes are arranged and numbered starting from the most proximal and mature (-1) oocyte near the spermatheca. (A) Oocyte maturation is similar in pam-1 and wee-1.3(syb1738) strains in comparison to wild-type as scored by the presence of the nucleolus. At least 50 gonads were scored for each strain. (B) Although wild-type worms go sterile after treatment with wee-1.3(RNAi), this was reduced in pam-1 strains as seen by continued production of embryos. Data from 20 worms per treatment. (C, D) When wee-1.3 is inactivated by RNAi, precocious oocyte maturation is observed in wild-type worms, but not in pam-1 worms. At least 40 gonads were scored for each treatment. (C) DIC images show one gonad arm starting with the -1 oocyte on the left. Arrowhead points to the first appearance of a nucleolus in the oocytes. (D) Quantification of nucleolus presence in the first five oocytes in RNAi of wee-1.3 in compared with empty vector, L4440. Chi square analysis was performed for each strain between L4440 and wee-1.3(RNAi) *P < 0.05; ***P < 0.001