Fig 1: H3.3K27M mutation drives C. elegans germ cells towards a replicative fate. a Cartoon of H3.3K27M mutation, and boxplot showing fertility levels of wild-type and H3.3K27M mutant (mut) worms at 25 °C. N = 5 for wt, N = 4 for mut. b Cartoon images of worms and germ lines highlighting different stages of germcell development in wild-type and mut worms. DAPI-stained adult gonads of wild-type (left) and mut (right) worms. Distal tip (asterisk), normal (arrows), and endomitotic (arrowheads) oocytes are highlighted. A representative normal (wild type) and endomitotic (mut) oocyte is enlarged. Scale bars represent 75 µm on whole gonad pictures and 20 µm on enlarged oocyte pictures. c Boxplot showing the number of normal and endomitotic oocytes per gonad in wild-type and mut worms. N = 7 for wt, N = 9 for mut. d Boxplot showing relative DNA content in endomitotic oocytes compared with wild-type oocytes (diakinesis I, 4 n) based on the DAPI quantification. N = 10. e H3.3K27M mutant late pachytene and diakinesis germ cells are positive for markers of replication (DNA polymerase delta subunit 2 (POLD2) and BrdU incorporation), mitosis (H3 phosphoS10) and DNA double stranded breaks (RAD-51). POLD2 staining in pachytene nuclei as well as POLD2, BrdU, H3 phosphoS10, and RAD-51 staining in normal oocytes of wild-type and endomitotic oocytes of mut worms are shown. Scale bars equal 15 µm for late pachytene nuclei images and 10 µm for wild-type and endomitotic oocytes images