Transposable elements are vectors of recurrent transgenerational epigenetic inheritance
DNA methylation loss at transposable elements (TEs) can affect neighboring genes and be epigenetically inherited in plants, yet the determinants and importance of this additional system of inheritance are unknown. In this work, we demonstrate in <i>Arabidopsis thaliana</i> that transgenerational stability of experimentally induced hypomethylation at TE loci is constrained by small RNAs derived from related copies. Using data from more than 700 strains collected worldwide, we uncover similar and recurrent hypomethylation at hundreds of these TE loci, often near genes. Most natural epivariants that 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, revealing their contribution to heritable phenotypic variation in nature.
Authors
- Olivier Loudet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3717-0137)
- Martine Boccara
- Ciana Xu
- Alexis Sarazin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1869-5192)
- Vincent Colot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6382-1610)
- Elodie Gilbault (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-8507-0505)
- Grégoire Bohl‐Viallefond (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7389-4985)
- Pierre Baduel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9338-2962)
- Leandro Quadrana (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6279-211X)
- Erwann Caillieux (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2213-4427)
- Felipe Karam Teixeira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7651-1657)
- Matteo Barois (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3157-0917)
- Vipin Singh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0312-0449)
- Audrey Petit
- Louna De Oliveira
- Mounia El Messaoudi
- Antoine de France
- Maëva Draï
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology (AT)
- Austrian Academy of Sciences (AT)
- Inserm (FR)
- École Pratique des Hautes Études (FR)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- AgroParisTech (FR)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Université Paris-Saclay (FR)
- École Normale Supérieure - PSL (FR)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Institut des Sciences des Plantes de Paris Saclay (FR)
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (FR)
- Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin (FR)
- Institut de Biologie de l'École Normale Supérieure (FR)
- Unité Évolution, Écologie et Paléontologie (FR)
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (CH)
- Université d'Évry Val-d'Essonne (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science
- Published
- 2025-09-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/science.ady3475
- Citations
- 11
- Primary Topic
- Plant Molecular Biology Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 19.25
Funders
- European Commission
- Agence Nationale de la Recherche
- Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale