The hermaphroditic C. elegans germline generates sperm during larval development, followed by oogenesis in adulthood. This 3D rendering of germline chromatin includes a portion of the distal germline containing oogenic pachytene nuclei (top), as well as a portion of the proximal germline which stores the spermatids (yellow). Katherine McJunkin and Victor Ambros demonstrated that microRNAs act during embryogenesis to promote spermatogenesis and adult fecundity in C. elegans. Image courtesy of Katherine McJunkin. See McJunkin and Ambros, G3 4:1747–1754.

Cristy Gelling is a science writer, lapsed yeast geneticist, and former Communications Director at the GSA.

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