RRC ID 84184
Author Shugarts Devanapally NM, Sathya A, Yi AL, Chan WM, Marre JA, Jose AM.
Title Intergenerational transport of double-stranded RNA in C. elegans can limit heritable epigenetic changes.
Journal Elife
Abstract RNAs in circulation carry sequence-specific regulatory information between cells in plant, animal, and host-pathogen systems. Such RNA can cross generational boundaries, as evidenced by somatic double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans silencing genes of matching sequence in progeny. Here we dissect the intergenerational path taken by dsRNA from parental circulation and discover that cytosolic import through the dsRNA importer SID-1 in the parental germline and/or developing progeny varies with developmental time and dsRNA substrates. Loss of SID-1 enhances initiation of heritable RNA silencing within the germline and causes changes in the expression of the sid-1-dependent gene sdg-1 that last for more than 100 generations after restoration of SID-1. The SDG-1 protein is enriched in perinuclear germ granules required for heritable RNA silencing but is expressed from a retrotransposon targeted by such silencing. This auto-inhibitory loop suggests how retrotransposons could persist by hosting genes that regulate their own silencing.
Volume 13
Published 2025-2-4
DOI 10.7554/eLife.99149
PII 99149
PMID 39902803
PMC PMC11793870
MeSH Animals Caenorhabditis elegans* / genetics Caenorhabditis elegans* / metabolism Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins* / genetics Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins* / metabolism Epigenesis, Genetic* Membrane Proteins RNA Interference RNA, Double-Stranded* / genetics RNA, Double-Stranded* / metabolism Retroelements
Resource
C.elegans tm1200 tm1116 tmIs1005 tm2700