Intergenerational transport of double-stranded RNA in <i>C. elegans</i> can limit heritable epigenetic changes.

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

SUBMITTER: Shugarts Devanapally NM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11793870 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature