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bioRxiv · 10.1101/235713

A cytoplasmic Argonaute protein promotes the inheritance of RNAi

Xu, F.·Feng, X.·Chen, X.·Weng, C.·Yan, Q.·Xu, T.·Hong, M.·Guang, S.
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Abstract

RNAi-elicited gene silencing is heritable and can persist for multiple generations after its initial induction in C. elegans. However, the mechanism by which parental-acquired trait-specific information from RNAi is inherited by the progenies is not fully understood. Here, we identified a cytoplasmic Argonaute protein, WAGO-4, necessary for the inheritance of RNAi. WAGO-4 exhibits asymmetrical translocation to the germline during early embryogenesis, accumulates at the perinuclear foci in the germline, and is required for the inheritance of exogenous RNAi targeting both germline- and soma-expressed genes. WAGO-4 binds to 22G-RNAs and their mRNA targets. Interestingly, WAGO-4-associated endogenous 22G-RNAs target the same cohort of germline genes as CSR-1 and contain untemplated addition of uracil at the 3 ends. The poly(U) polymerase CDE-1 is required for the untemplated uridylation of 22G-RNAs and inheritance of RNAi. Therefore, we conclude that, in addition to the nuclear RNAi pathway, the cytoplasmic RNAi machinery also promotes RNAi inheritance.

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Xu, F., Feng, X., Chen, X., Weng, C., Yan, Q., Xu, T., Hong, M., Guang, S.. 2017-12-17. A cytoplasmic Argonaute protein promotes the inheritance of RNAi. https://doi.org/10.1101/235713

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