Target-dependent suppression of siRNA production modulates the levels of endogenous siRNAs in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline.

ABSTRACT: Despite the prominent role of endo-siRNAs in transposon silencing, their expression is not limited to these 'nonself' DNA elements. Transcripts of protein-coding genes ('self' DNA) in some cases also produce endo-siRNAs in yeast, plants and animals. How cells distinguish these two populations of siRNAs to prevent unwanted silencing of active genes in animals is not well understood. To address this question, we inserted various self-gene or gfp fragments into an LTR retrotransposon that produces abundant siRNAs and examined the propensity of these gene fragments to produce ectopic siRNAs in the Caenorhabditis elegans germline. We found that fragments of germline genes are generally protected from production of ectopic siRNAs. This phenomenon, which we termed 'target-directed suppression of

SUBMITTER: Gajic Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9481970 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature