Depletion of cdc-25.3, a Caenorhabditis elegans orthologue of cdc25, increases physiological germline apoptosis.

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.