Figure 2.

Increased serotonin signalling increases the number of germline precursors. (a) GPC counts from 39 experiments using 31 mutant strains tested in [3] and shown in the electronic supplementary material, table S2. Three experiments involving mod-5 hermaphrodites—two experiments using mod-5(n822), averages = 66.7 and 66, and one experiment using mod-5(n3314), average =64.6. Two experiments in which in mod-5(n3314) mutants MOD-5 function was restored in neurons including the absorbing AIM and RIH (AN::mod-5), and two experiments in which in mod-5(n3314) mutants MOD-5 function was restored in neurons including the producing NSM and ADF (PN::mod-5). Each diamond represents the mean value from one experiment. Dashed lines delimit three standard deviations above and below the mean of all strains except mod-5. See electronic supplementary material, figure S1b for more detail. (b) Representative images of pH3 staining (magenta) of gonads (DAPI stain in blue) in wild-type N2 and mod-5 hermaphrodites aged to mid-L4 (40 h), pre-reproductive adult (52 h) and day 2 of adulthood (72 h). Scale bars are 20 µm. (c) Quantification of cell divisions (pH3 staining) in the Progenitor Zone in the germlines of N2 and mod-5 hermaphrodites. In none of the experiments in this figure, were hermaphrodites treated with ascr#10. Asterisks indicate levels of statistical significance (* for p < 0.05, ** for p < 0.01; Kolmogorov–Smirnov test). See electronic supplementary material, table S1 for primary data and details of statistical analyses. (Online version in colour.)