Germline pro-aging signal. Caenorhabditis elegans

In animals across taxa, germline hyperactivity leads to accelerated aging, however, the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. In C. elegans, mating significantly accelerates germline proliferation and ultimately leads to somatic collapse and early death, suggesting that the germline pro-aging signal is significantly amplified by mating. Germlines were isolated from mated and unmated worms. mRNA-seq and small RNA-seq were performed to identify the underlying mechanism of hyperactive germline-induced somatic collapse and early death.