LAUSR

In Caenorhabditis elegans hermaphrodites, physiological germline apoptosis is higher in cdc‐25.3 mutants than in wild‐type. The elevated germline apoptosis in cdc‐25.3 mutants seems to be induced by accumulation of double‐stranded DNA breaks (DSBs). Both DNA damage and synapsis checkpoint genes are required to increase the germline apoptosis. Notably, the number of germ cells that lose P‐granule components, PGL‐1 and PGL‐3, increase in cdc‐25.3 mutants, and the increase in germline apoptosis requires the activity of SIR‐2.1, a Sirtuin orthologue. These results suggest that elevation of germline apoptosis in cdc‐25.3 mutants is induced by accumulation of DSBs, leading to a loss of PGL‐1 and PGL‐3 in germ cells, which promotes cytoplasmic translocation of SIR‐2.1, and finally activates the core apoptotic machinery.