RNA-seq of C. elegans glp-1 hermaphrodites with and without sexual interactions with males

To better understand how males shorten the lifespan of the opposite sex in C. elegans, we performed bulk RNA-seq to identify the hermaphrodite response to sexual interactions with males. To avoid confounds from embryo transcripts, we used sterile, glp-1 hermaphrodites which are susceptible to male-induced demise. We tested different ages of hermaphrodites (young, day 3 of life and older, day 7 of life) as well as different lengths of sexual interaction (1 day versus 5 days). Age-matched hermaphrodites that never experienced a sexual interaction with males were also used for RNA-seq.