ArticleCell2012
piRNAs can trigger a multigenerational epigenetic memory in the germline of C. elegans.
Article in Cell, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 396 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
396 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Decoding chromatin-associated RNA (caRNA) interaction networks: from genome-wide dynamic capture to epigenetic mechanisms in plants and animals.Epigenetics · 2026Review
- Bacteria-Derived 1-Allylpiperazine Alleviates Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease Model by Promoting Autophagy.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Transgenerational inheritance of altered H3K27me3 in wild-type Caenorhabditis elegans.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- DivergenteLife · 2026Article
- Review
- Transgenerational effects of heat shock on gene regulation and fitness-related traits in natural Drosophila populations.Molecular biology and evolution · 2026Article
- Scavenger Cells Failure to Maintain Systemic RNA Homeostasis Causes Epigenetically Inherited Germline Tumors.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway mediates selective degradation of unloaded Argonaute proteins in C. elegans.Genetics · 2026Article
- Epimutations: raw material for evolution?The EMBO journal · 2026Review
- A mammalian-like piRNA pathway in Axolotl reveals the origins of piRNA-directed DNA methylation.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- Teleosts as Models for Epigenetic Inheritance.Molecular ecology · 2026Review
- Reproductive phasiRNAs are the piRNAs of plants.Trends in genetics : TIG · 2026Review
- Male obesity causes adipose mitochondrial dysfunction in FNature communications · 2026Article
- A SET domain-containing protein and HCF-1 maintain transgenerational epigenetic memory.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Poly(U) polymerase activity promotes establishment of primordial germ cells and limits somatic PGL granules in the Caenorhabditis elegans embryo.Developmental biology · 2026Article
- Epigenetic regulation in early embryogenesis: mechanisms, developmental programming, and transgenerational implications.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Engineering the auxin-inducible degron system for tunable in vivo control of organismal physiology.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Lifespan-extending downregulation of insulin signalling reduces germline mutation load.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Nuclear Argonaute HRDE-1 Maintains Chromatin-Independent Transcriptional Silencing through a Transgenerational Small RNA Feedback Loop.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
336 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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15 authors.
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Abstract
Transgenerational effects have wide-ranging implications for human health, biological adaptation, and evolution; however, their mechanisms and biology remain poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that a germline nuclear small RNA/chromatin pathway can maintain stable inheritance for many generations when triggered by a piRNA-dependent foreign RNA response in C. elegans. Using forward genetic screens and candidate approaches, we find that a core set of nuclear RNAi and chromatin factors is required for multigenerational inheritance of environmental RNAi and piRNA silencing. These include a germline-specific nuclear Argonaute HRDE1/WAGO-9, a HP1 ortholog HPL-2, and two putative histone methyltransferases, SET-25 and SET-32. piRNAs can trigger highly stable long-term silencing lasting at least 20 generations. Once established, this long-term memory becomes independent of the piRNA trigger but remains dependent on the nuclear RNAi/chromatin pathway. Our data present a multigenerational epigenetic inheritance mechanism induced by piRNAs.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.