Meiotic pairing and imprinted X chromatin assembly in Caenorhabditis elegans

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Christopher J Bean, rollins research center; Christine E Schaner, Emory University; William G Kelly, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2004-01
• Publisher: Nature Research (part of Springer Nature)
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: © 2004 Nature Publishing Group
• Final Published Version (URL): http://www.nature.com/ng/journal/v36/n1/full/ng1283.html
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Nature Genetics
• ISSN: 1061-4036
• Volume: 36
• Issue: 1
• Start Page: 100
• End Page: 105
• Grant/Funding Information: Some of the primer sequences used in this study were provided by WormBase.; Some of the C. elegans strains used in this study were provided by the Caenorhabditis Genetics Center.; This work was supported by a grant from the US National Institutes of Health (to W.G.K.).; C.E.S. is supported by a Training Grant from the US National Institutes of Health.
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, General; Biology, Genetics; Chemistry, Biochemistry

Abstract

The genetic imprinting of individual loci or whole chromosomes, as in imprinted X-chromosome inactivation in mammals1,2, is established and reset during gametogenesis; defects in this process in the parent can result in disease in the offspring3. We describe a sperm-specific chromatin-based imprinting of the X chromosome in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that is restricted to histone H3 modifications. The epigenetic imprint is established during spermatogenesis and its stability in the offspring is affected by the presence of a pairing partner during meiosis in the parental germ line. We observed that DNA lacking a pairing partner during meiosis, the normal situation for the X chromosome in males, is targeted for methylation of histone H3 at Lys9 (H3-Lys9) and can be silenced. Targeting unpaired DNA for silencing during meiosis, a potential hallmark of genome defense, could therefore have a conserved role in imprinted X-chromosome inactivation and, ultimately, in sex chromosome evolution.