Picture from Gumienny TL et al. (2007) Curr Biol "Glypican LON-2 is a conserved negative regulator of BMP-like signaling in ...."

(C and D) Expression pattern of lon-2. A lon-2 promoter fusion construct with gfp shows strong intestinal expression and weak expression in the hypodermis of the head, body, and tail. Animals are at the L1 stage. The head and the tail are indicated by bars, and the arrows indicate the gonad.

Picture from Gumienny TL et al. (2007) Curr Biol "Glypican LON-2 is a conserved negative regulator of BMP-like signaling in ...."

Figure 1. The lon-2 Phenotype, Expression Pattern, and Localization.(A and B) lon-2 mutant animals are longer in length than the wild-type. Animals are representative 24 hr adults. The anterior is left; dorsal is up. (A) shows the wild-type adult hermaphrodite. (B) shows the lon-2(e678) adult hermaphrodite.(C and D) Expression pattern of lon-2. A lon-2 promoter fusion construct with gfp shows strong intestinal expression and weak expression in the hypodermis of the head, body, and tail. Animals are at the L1 stage. DIC optics view (A) and fluorescence view (B). The head and the tail are indicated by bars, and the arrows indicate the gonad.(E and F) A rescuing translational-fusion construct of a full-length LON-2 to GFP is visible in intestinal cells, predominantly to the most posterior cells. Animals are at the L1 stage. The confocal image of a non-transgenic lon-2(e678) animal shows low levels of autofluorescence (E). The confocal image of a transgenic lon-2(e678);wkEx87 shows fluorescence of LON-2:GFP lining intestinal cells (indicated by the long arrow) (F). The rectum is indicated with short arrows in (E) and (F).

Picture from Gartner A et al. (2008) WormBook "Germline survival and apoptosis."

Figure 1. The C. elegans hermaphrodite gonad, and germline apoptosis. (A) Schematic representation of an adult hermaphrodite gonad. One of two gonad arms is shown. The basic features of C. elegans germ cell production have been described elsewhere (see Introduction to the germline, and Germline proliferation and its control). Briefly, germ cells are derived from a proliferating stem cell population located at the distal end of the gonad (relative to the uterus). These germline stem cells give rise to sperm during larval stages, then switch to production of oocytes during adulthood. The somatic distal tip cell regulates germline stem cell proliferation, and entry into the transition zone and prophase of Meiosis I. Germ cells are partially enclosed by a plasma membrane, and share a common cytoplasmic core. Germ cell apoptosis occurs mainly within the gonad loop region (black line), approximately as developing oocytes exit the pachytene stage of meiotic prophase. Apoptotic nuclei are shown as solid black. Apoptosis of germ cells occurs during oogenesis, and therefore is not seen in larvae or males. After pachytene exit, the surviving germ cells grow rapidly and differentiate into individual cellularized oocytes in the proximal germline, and are fertilized in the spermatheca after they undergo maturation (see Control of oocyte meiotic maturation and fertilization). (B) Cross section through the loop region, showing a single cell undergoing apoptosis. Each dying cell rapidly 'pinches off' from the shared cytoplasmic core and forms a discrete cell that contains very little cytoplasm. The apoptotic cell is engulfed and removed by one of the somatic sheath cells that surround the gonad (Gumienny et al., 1999).