prg-1 longevity germline nucleoli: Piwi mutant germ cells transmit a form of heritable stress that promotes longevity

The C. elegans Argonaute protein PRG-1/Piwi and associated piRNAs protect metazoan genomes by silencing transposons and other types of foreign DNA. As prg-1 mutants are propagated, their fertility deteriorates prior to the onset of a reproductive arrest phenotype that resembles a starvation-induced stress response. We found that late-generation prg-1 mutants with substantially reduced fertility were long-lived, whereas early- or mid-generation prg-1 mutants had normal lifespans. Loss of the stress response transcription factor DAF-16 caused mid- or late-generation prg-1 mutants to live very short lives, whereas overexpression of DAF-16 enabled both mid- and late-generation prg-1 mutants to live long. Cytoplasmic P-bodies that respond to stress increased in long-lived late-generation prg-1 mutants and were transmitted to F1 but not F2 cross-progeny. Moreover, moderate levels of heritable stress shorten late-generation prg-1 mutant longevity when DAF-16 or P bodies are deficient. Together..., This data was collected on a widefield microscope using DIC microscopy and a 60X objective. Measurements of nucleolar and nuclear size were made using FIJI image analysis software., , # prg-1 longevity germline nucleoli: Piwi mutant germ cells transmit a form of heritable stress that promotes longevity

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z08kprrp2](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.z08kprrp2)

Raw image files of germline nucleoli in *C. elegans* young adult animals deficient for Piwi/piRNA-mediated silencing, along with controls and other experimental conditions. Analysis of germline nucleolar size was performed to test for a connection to somatic aging. 

## Description of the data and file structure

.dv and .nd2 file types are large image files generated by the DeltaVision and Nikon image acquisition software, respectively. Similarly to TIFFs, they can be opened using FIJI or similar image analysis software. 

## Sharing/Access information

Data was derived from the following sources:

* DeltaVision and Nikon Ti2 widefield microscopes.,