Hereditary epigenetic variation, initially recognized and studied extensively in plants, had not been reported in mammals until recently. We have now identified the Kit locus as the first example of a paramutable gene of the mouse. Kit+/+ homozygotes born from Kittm1Alf/+ heterozygotes maintain and transmit to their progeny the white-spotted phenotype characteristic of the mutant heterozygote. Our observation of unusual amounts of RNA in the sperm of the paramutated (Kit*) males had led us to consider the possibility of RNA-mediated inheritance. A role for RNA was supported further by the efficient establishment of the epigenetic modification following microinjection in one-cell embryos of either sperm RNA of the paramutated males or of the Kit-specific microRNAs miR-221 and -222. In this article, we describe the phenotypes associated with the wild-type genome in the Kit* paramutated animals. Paramutation may be considered to be one possibility of epigenetic modification in the case of familial disease predispositions that are not fully accounted for by Mendelian analysis.
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June 2007
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Conference Article|
May 22 2007
Inheritance of an epigenetic change in the mouse: a new role for RNA
M. Rassoulzadegan;
M. Rassoulzadegan
1
*Inserm U636, Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, F-06108 Nice, France
†Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, F-06108 Nice, France
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (email [email protected]).
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V. Grandjean;
V. Grandjean
*Inserm U636, Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, F-06108 Nice, France
†Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, F-06108 Nice, France
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P. Gounon;
P. Gounon
†Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, F-06108 Nice, France
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F. Cuzin
F. Cuzin
*Inserm U636, Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, F-06108 Nice, France
†Université de Nice-Sophia Antipolis, F-06108 Nice, France
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
December 04 2006
Online ISSN: 1470-8752
Print ISSN: 0300-5127
© 2007 Biochemical Society
2007
Biochem Soc Trans (2007) 35 (3): 623–625.
Article history
Received:
December 04 2006
Citation
M. Rassoulzadegan, V. Grandjean, P. Gounon, F. Cuzin; Inheritance of an epigenetic change in the mouse: a new role for RNA. Biochem Soc Trans 1 June 2007; 35 (3): 623–625. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BST0350623
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