The lim-7p::ced-1::GFP transgene from the MD701 strain increases embryonic lethality in C. elegans

The lim-7p::ced-1::GFP transgene has been widely used for evaluating germline apoptosis in C. elegans . Here we observed an increase in embryonic lethality in the MD701 strain that contains the lim-7p::ced-1::GFP transgene and a strain that outcrossed the lim-7p::ced-1::GFP transgene into the N2 wild-type strain. While the outcrossed strain had a significantly lower level of embryonic lethality than MD701, it still showed significantly higher embryonic lethality than wild type. Our results suggest that the presence of the lim-7p::ced-1::GFP transgene significantly increases embryonic lethality, but there may also be a secondary mutation in the MD701 strain that further increases embryonic lethality.