Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34547227›Full record

ArticleDevelopmental cell2021

Cues from mRNA splicing prevent default Argonaute silencing in C. elegans.

Yekaterina V Makeyeva, Masaki Shirayama, Craig C Mello

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Developmental cell, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. DivergenteLife · 2026
    Article
  2. piRNAs safeguard splicing and RNA fidelity during heat shock.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
  3. Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Yekaterina V MakeyevaRNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
Masaki ShirayamaRNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
Craig C MelloRNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Worcester, MA 01605, USA. Electronic address: craig.mello@umassmed.edu.

Funding

Enhancing and expanding the CGC Strain CollectionP40OD010440 · OD · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · PI Aric L Daul, Ann E. Rougvie · 2012 to 2026
$7.5M
Understanding the architecture, regulation, and function of piRNA-producing genesP01HD078253 · NICHD · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · PI WENG, ZHIPING · 2015 to 2019
$6.5M
RNA MEDIATED GENETIC INTERFERENCE IN C ELEGANSR01GM058800 · NIGMS · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · PI MELLO, CRAIG C · 1999 to 2014
$4.6M
RNA Mediated Genetic Interference in C. elegansR37GM058800 · NIGMS · UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS MED SCH WORCESTER · PI MELLO, CRAIG C · 2015 to 2024
$3.7M
Howard Hughes Medical InstituteNICHD NIH HHS P01 HD078253NIGMS NIH HHS R01 GM058800NIGMS NIH HHS R37 GM058800NIH HHS P40 OD010440
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In animals, Argonaute small-RNA pathways scan germline transcripts to silence self-replicating genetic elements. However, little is known about how endogenous gene expression is recognized and licensed. Here, we show that the presence of introns and, by inference, the process of mRNA splicing prevents default Argonaute-mediated silencing in the C. elegans germline. The silencing of intronless genes is initiated independently of the piRNA pathway but nevertheless engages multiple components of the downstream amplification and maintenance mechanisms that mediate transgenerational silencing, including both nuclear and cytoplasmic members of the worm-specific Argonaute gene family (WAGOs). Small RNAs amplified from intronless mRNAs can trans-silence cognate intron-containing genes. Interestingly, a second, small RNA-independent cis-acting mode of silencing also acts on intronless mRNAs. Our findings suggest that cues put in place during mRNA splicing license germline gene expression and provide evidence for a splicing-dependent and dsRNA- and piRNA-independent mechanism that can program Argonaute silencing.

Indexed as

CuesAnimalsArgonaute ProteinsCaenorhabditis elegansCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsCell NucleusGene SilencingGerm CellsNuclear ProteinsRNA, MessengerRNA, Small InterferingRNA SplicingArgonaute ProteinsCaenorhabditis elegans ProteinsNuclear ProteinsRNA, MessengerRNA, Small InterferingC. elegansepigenetic inheritancegene expression surveillanceintronless genespiRNARNAiRNA processingRNA splicing

Identifiers

PMID34547227
PMCPMC8693449

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.