Chromatin silencing and the maintenance of a functional germline in Caenorhabditis elegans

• Authors: William G Kelly, Emory University; A. Fire
• Journal Title: Development
• Volume: Volume 125
• Publisher: Company of Biologists | 1998-07-01, Pages 2451-2456
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Subjects: Biology, Cell

Abstract

The germline of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans exhibits a remarkable ability to specifically silence transgenic DNA. We have shown that this silencing mechanism is disrupted in animals mutant for the maternal effect sterile genes mes-2, mes-3, mes-4 and mes-6. The proteins encoded by mes-2 and mes-6 have been shown to be related to the Polycomb Group of transcriptional repressors (Holdeman, R., Nehrt, S. and Strome, S. (1998). Development 125, 2457–2467; Korf, I., Fan, F. and Strome, S. (1998). Development 125, 2469–2478). These results suggest that a genetic silencing process is essential for sustained germline function, and that this silencing is mediated, at least in part, by Polycomb Group proteins.