UNASSIGNED: Despite the central importance of germ cells for transmission of genetic material, our understanding of the molecular programs that control primordial germ cell (PGC) specification and differentiation are limited. Here, we present findings that @entity68409 ( @entity68409 ), known for its role in regulating meiotic crossover formation, is an early determinant of germ cell fates in @entity2199 . @entity68409 mutant embryos display a novel "one PGC" phenotype due to G2 cell cycle arrest of the P4 blastomere. Larvae and adults display smaller germ lines and reduced brood sized consistent with a role for @entity68409 in germ cell proliferation. Maternal @entity68409 proteins are found in P4 and exclusively localized to the nucleus in the PGCs, Z2 and Z3. Zygotic @entity68409 turns on shortly thereafter, at the    300-cell stage, making @entity68409 the earliest zygotically-expressed gene in the worm PGCs. Strikingly, a subset of @entity68409 mutants lack germ cells, a phenotype shared with @entity62031 , a member of the conserved Nanos family of germline determinants. We generated a @entity62031 null allele and show that @entity62031 ; @entity68409 double mutants display @entity249 . Further removal of @entity68410 leads to almost complete sterility, with the vast majority of animals without germ cells. The sterility in @entity68409 mutants is correlated with an increase in the transcriptional activation-associated histone modification and aberrant expression of somatic transgenes. Together, these data strongly suggest that @entity68409 defines a new branch for PGC development that functions redundantly with @entity62031 and @entity68410 to promote germline fates by maintaining transcriptional quiescence and regulating germ cell proliferation.

A novel germ cell determinant reveals parallel pathways for germ line development in XXXX .

@entity68410 :: ('191735(Tax:6239)', 'Gene') :: ['nos-1'] @entity249 :: ('MESH:D007246', 'Disease') :: ['synthetic sterility'] @entity2199 :: ('6239', 'Species') :: ['Caenorhabditis elegans'] @entity62031 :: ('174158(Tax:6239)', 'Gene') :: ['nos-2'] @entity68409 :: ('175776(Tax:6239)', 'Gene') :: ['XND-1', 'xnd-1', 'X nondisjunction factor-1']
@entity2199 :: (6239,Species) :: ['Caenorhabditis elegans']
