该课题组人员在拟南芥中证明，实验诱导的TE位点低甲基化的跨代稳定性受到来自相关拷贝的小RNAs的限制。利用从世界各地收集的700个菌株的数据，课题组发现在数百个这些TE位点（通常靠近基因）上存在类似的和复发性的低甲基化。研究小组测试的大多数自然外显变体可以在没有DNA序列改变的情况下遗传，因此是真正的外显变体，尽管遗传因素调节其复发或持久性。表等位基因变异通常与基因表达变化有关，可能是选择的目标，它们揭示了它们在自然界中对遗传表型变异的贡献。
据介绍，转座因子（TEs）的DNA甲基化缺失可以影响邻近基因，并在植物中被表观遗传，但这种额外遗传系统的决定因素和意义尚不清楚。
附：英文原文
Title: Transposable elements are vectors of recurrent transgenerational epigenetic inheritance
Author: Pierre Baduel, Louna De Oliveira, Erwann Caillieux, Grégoire Bohl-Viallefond, Ciana Xu, Mounia El Messaoudi, Aurélien Petit, Mava Dra, Matteo Barois, Vipin Singh, Alexis Sarazin, Felipe K. Teixeira, Martine Boccara, Elodie Gilbault, Antoine de France, Leandro Quadrana, Olivier Loudet, Vincent Colot
Issue&Volume: 2025-09-18
Abstract: DNA methylation loss at transposable elements (TEs) can affect neighboring genes and be epigenetically inherited in plants, yet the determinants and significance of this additional system of inheritance are unknown. Here, we demonstrate in Arabidopsis thaliana that transgenerational stability of experimentally-induced hypomethylation at TE loci is constrained by small RNAs derived from related copies. Using data from >700 strains collected worldwide, we uncover similar and recurrent hypomethylation at hundreds of these TE loci, often near genes. Most natural epivariants we tested can be inherited without DNA sequence changes and are therefore bona fide epialleles, although genetic factors modulate their recurrence or persistence. Epiallelic variants often cause gene expression changes and may be targets of selection, thus revealing their contribution to heritable phenotypic variation in nature.
DOI: ady3475
Source: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady3475