ANI-2 permits elastic deformation of the adult hermaphrodite gonad and rachis bridges. (A) Time-lapse confocal image projections of the gonad of a wild-type hermaphrodite expressing GFP::ANI-2 (green) and a membrane marker (red) captured before (top), during (middle), and after (bottom) ovulation. Arrowheads point to the most proximal rachis bridge. Double-headed arrows indicate the length of the GFP::ANI-2–enriched portion of the proximal gonad arm. Bar, 10 µm. See also Videos 1 and 2. (B and C) Measured fold-increase (as compared with minimum measurement) in proximal gonad arm length (B) and rachis bridge diameter (C) over time in the gonads of control (blue, n = 6) and ani-2(RNAi) (green, n = 5) adult hermaphrodite animals undergoing ovulation. Time 0 corresponds to the point of oocyte entry into the spermatheca. Error bars represent SD. (D) Proposed model depicting ANI-1 and ANI-2 function in promoting rachis bridge opening during larval development and relieving mechanical stress upon oogenesis in adult animals.