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Updated: Aug 12, 2025

Author Spotlight: RNAi Inheritance and ChIP in C. elegans
Published on: May 5, 2023
Transgenerational epigenetic control of constitutive heterochromatin, transposons, and centromeres
Tatsuo Fukagawa1, Tetsuji Kakutani2
1Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. Electronic address: https://twitter.com/tatsuofukagawa1.
Abstract:
Epigenetic mechanisms are important not only for development but also for genome stability and chromosome dynamics. The latter types of epigenetic controls can often be transgenerational. Here, we review recent progress in two examples of transgenerational epigenetic control: i) the control of constitutive heterochromatin and transposable elements and ii) epigenetic mechanisms that regulate centromere specification and functions. We also discuss the biological significance of enigmatic associations among centromeres, transposons, and constitutive heterochromatin.
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