ArticleNature2014
Genome-defence small RNAs exapted for epigenetic mating-type inheritance.
Article in Nature, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers.
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Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 125 citations in OpenAlex.
- The mechanistic and evolutionary diversity of programmed DNA elimination.Nature reviews. Genetics · 2026Review
- The tiny germline chromosomes of Paramecium aurelia have an exceptionally high recombination rate and are capped by a new class of Helitrons.BMC biology · 2026Article
- Calcium Ions as Conjugation-Specific Regulators inMicroorganisms · 2026Article
- A histone methyltransferase-independent function of PRC2 controls small RNA dynamics during programmed DNA elimination in Paramecium.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- The PIWI-interacting protein Gtsf1 controls the selective degradation of small RNAs in Paramecium.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Identification and Characterization of the Gene Responsible for the OMicroorganisms · 2024Article
- A seven-sex species recognizes self and non-self mating-type via a novel protein complex.eLife · 2024Article
- Structural maintenance of chromosomes (SMC) proteins are required for DNA elimination inLife science alliance · 2024Article
- Review
- piRNA pathway evolution beyond gonad context: Perspectives from apicomplexa and trypanosomatids.Frontiers in genetics · 2023Article
- Micromanipulation in Paramecium: From non-mendelian inheritance to the outlook for versatile micromachines.The Journal of eukaryotic microbiology · 2022Review
- Timing and characteristics of nuclear events during conjugation and genomic exclusion inMarine life science & technology · 2022Article
- Comparative Analysis Between Paramecium Strains with Different Syngens Using the RAPD Method.Microbial ecology · 2022Article
- Distinction of Paramecium strains by a combination method of RAPD analysis and multiplex PCR.PloS one · 2022Article
- One Cell, Two Gears: Extensive Somatic Genome Plasticity Accompanies High Germline Genome Stability in Paramecium.Genome biology and evolution · 2021Article
- Massive colonization of protein-coding exons by selfish genetic elements in Paramecium germline genomes.PLoS biology · 2021Article
- Evolutionary Plasticity of Mating-Type Determination Mechanisms in Paramecium aurelia Sibling Species.Genome biology and evolution · 2021Article
- Evolution of the mating type gene pair and multiple sexes iniScience · 2021Article
- Epigenetics as Driver of Adaptation and Diversification in Microbial Eukaryotes.Frontiers in genetics · 2021Article
- A universal method for the rapid isolation of all known classes of functional silencing small RNAs.Nucleic acids research · 2020Article
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Authors and funding
20 authors at 10 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
In the ciliate Paramecium, transposable elements and their single-copy remnants are deleted during the development of somatic macronuclei from germline micronuclei, at each sexual generation. Deletions are targeted by scnRNAs, small RNAs produced from the germ line during meiosis that first scan the maternal macronuclear genome to identify missing sequences, and then allow the zygotic macronucleus to reproduce the same deletions. Here we show that this process accounts for the maternal inheritance of mating types in Paramecium tetraurelia, a long-standing problem in epigenetics. Mating type E depends on expression of the transmembrane protein mtA, and the default type O is determined during development by scnRNA-dependent excision of the mtA promoter. In the sibling species Paramecium septaurelia, mating type O is determined by coding-sequence deletions in a different gene, mtB, which is specifically required for mtA expression. These independently evolved mechanisms suggest frequent exaptation of the scnRNA pathway to regulate cellular genes and mediate transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of essential phenotypic polymorphisms.
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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.