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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Analysis of Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance in C. elegans Using a Fluorescent Reporter and Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP)
Published on: May 5, 2023
Less is more: specification of the germline by transcriptional repression
Akira Nakamura1, Geraldine Seydoux
1Laboratory for Germline Development, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0047, Japan. akiran@cdb.riken.jp
Abstract:
In animals, the germline is the only lineage that transmits genetic information to the next generation. Although the founder cells of this lineage are specified differently in invertebrates and vertebrates, recent studies have shown that germline specification in C. elegans, Drosophila and mouse depends on the global inhibition of mRNA transcription. Different strategies are used in each organism, but remarkably most target the same two processes: transcriptional elongation and chromatin remodeling. This convergence suggests that a repressed genome is essential to preserve the unique developmental potential of the germline.
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