PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Pinelopi Pliota
AU  - Hana Marvanova
AU  - Alevtina Koreshova
AU  - Yotam Kaufman
AU  - Polina Tikanova
AU  - Daniel Krogull
AU  - Andreas Hagmüller
AU  - Sonya A. Widen
AU  - Dominik Handler
AU  - Joseph Gokcezade
AU  - Peter Duchek
AU  - Julius Brennecke
AU  - Eyal Ben-David
AU  - Alejandro Burga
TI  - The evolution of an RNA-based memory of self in the face of genomic conflict
AID  - 10.1101/2022.06.17.496645
DP  - 2022 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2022.06.17.496645
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/06/21/2022.06.17.496645.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/06/21/2022.06.17.496645.full
AB  - Distinguishing endogenous genes from selfish ones is essential for germline integrity. In animals, small regulatory RNAs play a central role in this process; however, the underlying principles are largely unknown. To fill this gap, we studied how selfish toxin-antidote elements (TAs) evade silencing in the nematode Caenorhabditis tropicalis. We found that the slow-1/grow-1 TA is active only when maternally inherited. Surprisingly, this parent-of-origin effect stems from a regulatory role of the toxin’s mRNA: maternal slow-1 mRNA—but not SLOW-1 protein—licenses slow-1 expression in the zygote by counteracting piRNAs. Our results indicate that epigenetic licensing— known to play a role in C. elegans sex-determination—is likely a common mechanism that hinders the spread of selfish genes in wild populations while ensuring a lasting memory of self in the germline.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.