Dietary manipulation implicates lipid signaling in the regulation of germ cell maintenance in C. elegans

Reproduction in C. elegans relies on continuously proliferating germ cells which, during germline development, exit mitosis, undergo meiosis and differentiate into gametes. Supplementing the diet of C. elegans with dihommogamma-linolenic acid (20:3n-6, DGLA), a long chain omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid, results in sterile worms that lack germ cells. The effect is remarkably specific for DGLA, as eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3, EPA) and other long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids with similar physical properties have little or no effect on fertility. Germ cells undergoing mitosis during larval stages are especially sensitive to DGLA, but exposure to DGLA during adulthood also reduces germ cells and brood size, in part by inducing inappropriate apoptosis of meiotic germ cells. Mutant strains with defects in fatty acid desaturation and elongation display altered susceptibility to DGLA, indicating that the sterility effect of the dietary lipid depends on the amount of DGLA present in membranes as well as on the capacity to convert DGLA to other fatty acids. We propose that DGLA produces a signal that interacts with one or more pathways regulating germ cell survival. Our DGLA findings are the first report of a role for a specific fatty acid affecting the development and maintenance of germ cells in C. elegans.