A Role for RNAi in the Selective Correction of DNA Methylation Defects
2009
Teixeira, Felipe, Karam | Heredia, Fabiana | Sarazin, Alexis | Roudier, François | Boccara, Martine | Ciaudo, Constance | Cruaud, Corinne | Poulain, Julie | Berdasco, María | Fraga, Mario, F. | Voinnet, Olivier | Wincker, Patrick | Esteller, Manel | Colot, Vincent | Unité de recherche en génomique végétale (URGV) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université d'Évry-Val-d'Essonne (UEVE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Biologie moléculaire des organismes photosynthétiques (UMR8186) ; Département de Biologie - ENS-PSL (IBENS) ; École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-École normale supérieure - Paris (ENS-PSL) ; Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes (IBMP) ; Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Dynamique nucléaire et plasticité du génome (DNPG) ; Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut Curie [Paris]-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) | Genoscope - Centre national de séquençage [Evry] (GENOSCOPE) ; Université Paris-Saclay-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)) ; Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) | Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncologicas / Spanish National Cancer Research Centre [Madrid, Espagne] (CNIO)
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. DNA methylation is essential for silencing transposable elements and some genes in higher eukaryotes, which suggests that this modification must be tightly controlled. However, accidental changes in DNA methylation can be transmitted through mitosis (as in cancer) or meiosis, leading to epiallelic variation. We demonstrated the existence of an efficient mechanism that protects against transgenerational loss of DNA methylation in Arabidopsis. Remethylation is specific to the subset of heavily methylated repeats that are targeted by the RNA interference (RNAi) machinery. This process does not spread into flanking regions, is usually progressive over several generations, and faithfully restores wild-type methylation over target sequences in an RNAi-dependent manner. Our findings suggest an important role for RNAi in protecting genomes against long-term epigenetic defects.
Show more [+] Less [-]Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by Institut national de la recherche agronomique