Fig. 3

a fem-1 and fog-2 mutants treated with control or tdc-1 RNAi. Each image represents the 20 − 40 gonad images. Red-dotted circle indicates individual Emo. b A C. remanei female treated with control RNAi or tdc-1 RNAi. tph-1 encodes a tryptophan hydroxylase. Similar images were observed from 33 gonads for an empty vector, 36 gonads for tph-1 RNAi and 23 gonads for tdc-1 RNAi. c In fog-2 mutants, 6 − 7 quiescent oocytes accumulate (red rectangle). Arrowheads: vulva, yellow polygons: spermatheca. In fog-2; tbh-1 mutants, no quiescent oocytes accumulate. Due to a faster ovulation rate than that of fog-2 mutants, three unfertilized oocytes in the uterus are shown (black arrows). The nucleus of the most proximal oocyte (−1) migrated to its cortex, indicating it is undergoing meiotic maturation²³. Red arrows: activated oocytes. OA (20 mM) rescues the fog-2; tbh-1 phenotype. Two unfertilized oocytes are shown in the uterus due to delay of rescue (black arrows). All animals were virgins observed 10 h after late L4. Similar images were observed from 7 gonads for fog-2, 16 gonads for fog-2; tbh-1 and 9 gonads for fog-2; tbh-1 + OA. a–c Scale bar = 20 μm. d Ovulation rates of fog-2 (n = 28 animals), fog-2; tbh-1 (n = 71 animals) and fog-2; tbh-1 + OA (n = 35 animals). Two-sided t-test: p = 2.6 × 10⁻¹⁵ (***) for fog-2 vs. fog-2; tbh-1, 4.5 × 10⁻¹⁰ (***) for fog-2; tbh-1 vs. fog-2; tbh-1 + OA. e Wild-type (+) (n = 20 animals) and tbh-1 mutants (n = 14 animals) show similar ovulation rates in the presence of sperm. (n.s.: not significant, two-sided t-test: p = 0.76). d, e Boxplots show the median, mean (X), interquartile range (IQR). The upper whisker: the maxima smaller than 1.5 times IQR plus the third quartile, the lower whisker: the minima larger than 1.5 times IQR minus the first quartile. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.