Stable epigenetic changes appear uncommon, suggesting that changes typically dissipate or are repaired. Changes that stably alter gene expression across generations presumably require particular conditions that are currently unknown. Here we report that a minimal combination of cis-regulatory sequences can support permanent RNA silencing of a single-copy transgene and its derivatives in C. elegans simply upon mating. Mating disrupts competing RNA-based mechanisms to initiate silencing that can last for >300 generations. This stable silencing requires components of the small RNA pathway and can silence homologous sequences in trans. While animals do not recover from mating-induced silencing, they often recover from and become resistant to trans silencing. Recovery is also observed in most cases when double-stranded RNA is used to silence the same coding sequence in different regulatory contexts that drive germline expression. Therefore, we propose that regulatory features can evolve to oppose permanent and potentially maladaptive responses to transient change.
Gene silencing is a significant obstacle to genome engineering and has been proposed to be a non-self response against foreign DNA 1,2,3,4 . Yet, some foreign genes remain expressed for many generations 1,3,4 and some native genes remain silenced for many generations 1,5,6 . How organisms determine whether a sequence is expressed or silenced is unclear. Here we show that a stably expressed foreign DNA sequence in C. elegans is converted into a stably silenced sequence when males with the foreign DNA mate with wild-type hermaphrodites. This conversion does not occur when the hermaphrodite also has exonic sequences from the foreign DNA. Once initiated, silencing persists for many generations independent of mating and is associated with a DNA-independent signal that can silence other homologous loci in every generation. This mating-induced silencing resembles piRNA- generations. Thus, our results reveal the existence of a mechanism that maintains gene silencing initiated upon ancestral mating. By allowing retention of potentially detrimental sequences acquired through mating, this mechanism could create a reservoir of sequences that contribute to novelty when activated during evolution. ResultsMating is routinely used to introduce genes, including fluorescent reporters, into different genetic backgrounds and it is generally assumed that gene expression is unaffected by this manipulation. While
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