Gene silencing is associated with heritable changes in gene expression which occur without changes in DNA sequence. In eukaryotes these phenomena are common and control important processes, such as development, imprinting,viral and transposon sequence silencing, as well as transgene silencing. Among the epigenetic events, paramutation occurs when a silenced allele (named paramutagenic) is able to silence another allele (paramutable) in trans and this change is heritable. The silenced paramutable allele acquires paramutagenic capacity in the next generations. In the 1950s, Alexander Brink described for the first time the phenomenon of paramutation, occurring in maize at the colored1 (r1) gene, a complex locus (encoding myc-homologous transcription factors) that regulates the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway. Since then, paramutation and paramutation-like interactions have been discovered in other plants and animals, suggesting that they may underlie important echanisms for gene expression. The molecular bases of these phenomena are unknown. However in some cases, the event of paramutation has been correlated with changes in NA methylation, chromatin structure and recently several studies suggest that RNA could play a fundamental role. This last consideration is greatly supported by genetic screening for mutants inhibiting paramutation, which allowed the identification of genes involved in RNA-directed transcriptional silencing, although it is possible that proteins are also equired for paramutation. The meaning of paramutation in the life cycle and in evolution remains to be determined even though we might conjecture that this phenomenon could be involved in a fast heritability of favourable epigenetic states across generations in a non-Mendelian way.

Paramutation : Just a Curiosity or Fine Tuning of Gene Expression in the Next Generation? / S. R. Pilu. - In: CURRENT GENOMICS. - ISSN 1389-2029. - 12:4(2011), pp. 298-306.

Paramutation : Just a Curiosity or Fine Tuning of Gene Expression in the Next Generation?

S. R. Pilu
Primo
2011

Abstract

Gene silencing is associated with heritable changes in gene expression which occur without changes in DNA sequence. In eukaryotes these phenomena are common and control important processes, such as development, imprinting,viral and transposon sequence silencing, as well as transgene silencing. Among the epigenetic events, paramutation occurs when a silenced allele (named paramutagenic) is able to silence another allele (paramutable) in trans and this change is heritable. The silenced paramutable allele acquires paramutagenic capacity in the next generations. In the 1950s, Alexander Brink described for the first time the phenomenon of paramutation, occurring in maize at the colored1 (r1) gene, a complex locus (encoding myc-homologous transcription factors) that regulates the anthocyanin biosynthetic pathway. Since then, paramutation and paramutation-like interactions have been discovered in other plants and animals, suggesting that they may underlie important echanisms for gene expression. The molecular bases of these phenomena are unknown. However in some cases, the event of paramutation has been correlated with changes in NA methylation, chromatin structure and recently several studies suggest that RNA could play a fundamental role. This last consideration is greatly supported by genetic screening for mutants inhibiting paramutation, which allowed the identification of genes involved in RNA-directed transcriptional silencing, although it is possible that proteins are also equired for paramutation. The meaning of paramutation in the life cycle and in evolution remains to be determined even though we might conjecture that this phenomenon could be involved in a fast heritability of favourable epigenetic states across generations in a non-Mendelian way.
Settore AGR/07 - Genetica Agraria
2011
Article (author)
File in questo prodotto:
Non ci sono file associati a questo prodotto.
Pubblicazioni consigliate

I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.

Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/193344
Citazioni
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.pmc??? ND
  • Scopus 20
  • ???jsp.display-item.citation.isi??? 18
social impact