Fig. 3

Oocyte-expressed miRNAs regulate meiotic progression, and oocyte development. Dissected germlines stained with DAPI to visualize nuclear morphology (DNA, white), NOP-1 (nucleolus, red), and LMN-1 (lamin, green) oriented from left to right with oocytes on the right. Asterisk marks the distal tip cell. The schematic in each panel is indicative of miRNA localization (in gray) in an adult germline. a Wild-type germlines exhibit 7–8 oocytes with no oogenic defects. b mir-35–41(nDf50), mutant germlines display pachytene progression defects (inset shows pachytene cells in the loop region, where normally germ cells exit into diplotene in wild-type) and reduced oocyte number relative to wild-type at 24 h past L4 stage of development. c mir-61 mir-250(nDf59), mutant adult germlines display delayed pachytene progression and reduced oocyte number. d mir-51(n4473), mutant adult germlines display lower oocyte number compared to wild-type. e mir-72(n4130), mutant adult germlines display reduced oocyte number compared to wild-type. f mir-54–56(nDf58), mutant adult germlines display lower oocyte number, with each oocyte also exhibiting abnormal shape relative to wild-type. NOP-1 is abrogated in the -2 oocyte (arrow) unlike wild-type germlines (a, arrow), where NOP-1 is visible in the -2 oocyte. Each experiment was performed three times, 50–75 gonads were dissected for each replicate from each genotype, and ~20–25 germlines were imaged per replicate. Scale bar: 20 μM