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Published Online January 29, 2009
Science DOI: 10.1126/science.1165313

Reports

Submitted on September 2, 2008
Accepted on January 16, 2009

A Role for RNAi in the Selective Correction of DNA Methylation Defects

Felipe Karam Teixeira 1, Fabiana Heredia 2, Alexis Sarazin 3, François Roudier 1, Martine Boccara 1, Constance Ciaudo 4, Corinne Cruaud 5, Julie Poulain 5, Maria Berdasco 6, Marioi F. Fraga 7, Olivier Voinnet 8, Patrick Wincker 5, Manel Esteller 6, Vincent Colot 1*

1 Unité de Recherche en Génomique Végétale, CNRS UMR8114, INRA UMR1165, Université d'Evry Val d'Essonne, 91057 Evry cedex, France.; CNRS UMR8186, Département de Biologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75230 Paris cedex 05, France.
2 Unité de Recherche en Génomique Végétale, CNRS UMR8114, INRA UMR1165, Université d'Evry Val d'Essonne, 91057 Evry cedex, France.
3 CNRS UMR8186, Département de Biologie, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 75230 Paris cedex 05, France.
4 Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, CNRS UPR 2357, 67084 Strasbourg cedex, France.; CNRS UMR218, Institut Curie, 75248 Paris cedex 05, France.
5 Génoscope, CEA – Institut de génomique, 91057 Evry cedex, France.
6 Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), 28029 Madrid, Spain.
7 Cancer Epigenetics Laboratory, Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO), 28029 Madrid, Spain.; Present address: Department of Immunology and Oncology, National Center for Biotechnology, CNB–CSIC, Cantoblanco, Madrid E–28049, Spain.
8 Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, CNRS UPR 2357, 67084 Strasbourg cedex, France.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Vincent Colot , E-mail: colot{at}biologie.ens.fr

DNA methylation is essential for silencing transposable elements and some genes in higher eukaryotes, implying that this modification must be tightly controlled. However, accidental changes in DNA methylation can be transmitted through mitosis, as in cancer, or meiosis, leading to epiallelic variation. Here, we demonstrate the existence of an efficient mechanism that protects against transgenerational loss of DNA methylation in Arabidopsis. Remethylation is specific to heavily methylated repeats that are targeted by the RNAi machinery. This process does not spread into flanking regions, is usually progressive over several generations, and faithfully restores wild-type methylation over target sequences, in an RNAi-dependent manner. Our findings suggest an important role for RNAi in protecting genomes against long-term epigenetic defects.


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)