Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

The persistence of a silent memory

Nature Genetics volume 44, pages 118–119 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

One of the most striking properties of RNA interference (RNAi) in Caenorhabditis elegans is its persistence in offspring after the triggering double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) has disappeared. A new study reveals that a heterochromatic silencing mark is deposited around the targets of RNAi and is transmitted through generations. These results show that RNAi can induce stable and heritable chromatin modifications in animals.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: A model for transgenerational transcriptional silencing in C. elegans.

References

  1. Volpe, T.A. et al. Science 297, 1833–1837 (2002).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Pal-Bhadra, M. et al. Science 303, 669–672 (2004).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Aravin, A.A. et al. Mol. Cell 31, 785–799 (2008).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Guang, S. et al. Nature 465, 1097–1101 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Gu, S.G. et al. Nat. Genet. 44, 157–164 (2012)

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Burton, N.O., Burkhart, K.B. & Kennedy, S. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 108, 19683–19688 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Halic, M. & Moazed, D. Cell 140, 504–516 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Han, J., Kim, D. & Morris, K.V. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 104, 12422–12427 (2007).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Zaratiegui, M. et al. Nature 479, 135–138 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  10. Bayne, E.H. et al. Cell 140, 666–677 (2010).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Reyes-Turcu, F.E., Zhang, K., Zofall, M., Chen, E. & Grewal, S.I.S. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 18, 1132–1138 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  12. Rechavi, O., Minevich, G. & Hobert, O. Cell 147, 1248–1256 (2011).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Slotkin, R.K. et al. Cell 136, 461–472 (2009).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  14. Kloc, A., Zaratiegui, M., Nora, E. & Martienssen, R. Curr. Biol. 18, 490–495 (2008).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  15. Kelly, W.G. & Aramayo, R. Chromosome Res. 15, 633–651 (2007).

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mikel Zaratiegui is at the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.,

    Mikel Zaratiegui

  2. Robert Martienssen is at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, New York, USA.,

    Robert Martienssen

Authors
  1. Mikel Zaratiegui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robert Martienssen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Mikel Zaratiegui or Robert Martienssen.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zaratiegui, M., Martienssen, R. The persistence of a silent memory. Nat Genet 44, 118–119 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.1088

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ng.1088

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing