Title
Argonautes Promote Male Fertility and Provide a Paternal Memory of Germline Gene Expression in C. elegans
Academic Program
Interdisciplinary Graduate Program
UMMS Affiliation
RNA Therapeutics Institute and Program in Molecular Medicine
Publication Date
2013-12-19
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Bioinformatics | Biology | Cell Biology | Developmental Biology | Genetics | Genomics | Molecular Genetics
Abstract
During each life cycle, germ cells preserve and pass on both genetic and epigenetic information. In C. elegans, the ALG-3/4 Argonaute proteins are expressed during male gametogenesis and promote male fertility. Here, we show that the CSR-1 Argonaute functions with ALG-3/4 to positively regulate target genes required for spermiogenesis. Our findings suggest that ALG-3/4 functions during spermatogenesis to amplify a small RNA signal that represents an epigenetic memory of male-specific gene expression. CSR-1, which is abundant in mature sperm, appears to transmit this memory to offspring. Surprisingly, in addition to small RNAs targeting male-specific genes, we show that males also harbor an extensive repertoire of CSR-1 small RNAs targeting oogenesis-specific mRNAs. Together, these findings suggest that C. elegans sperm transmit not only the genome but also epigenetic binary signals in the form of Argonaute/small RNA complexes that constitute a memory of gene expression in preceding generations.
Keywords
Epigenetics, RNAi, Small RNA, Argonaute, Germline Sperm
DOI of Published Version
10.1016/j.cell.2013.11.032
Source
Conine, C.C., Moresco, J.J., Gu, W., Shirayama, M., Conte, D., Jr., Yates, J.R., 3rd, and Mello, C.C. (2013). Argonautes Promote Male Fertility and Provide a Paternal Memory of Germline Gene Expression in C. elegans. Cell 155(7):1532-1544. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.11.032. Link to article on publisher's website
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Cell
Related Resources
PubMed ID
24360276
Repository Citation
Conine CC, Moresco JJ, Gu W, Shirayama M, Conte D, Yates JR, Mello CC. (2013). Argonautes Promote Male Fertility and Provide a Paternal Memory of Germline Gene Expression in C. elegans. Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences Student Publications. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2013.11.032. Retrieved from https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/gsbs_sp/1843