Transcriptional adaptation is a recently described phenomenon by which a mutation in one gene leads to the transcriptional modulation of related genes, termed adapting genes. At the molecular level, it has been proposed that the mutant mRNA, rather than the loss of protein function, activates this response. While several examples of transcriptional adaptation have been reported in zebrafish embryos and in mouse cell lines, it is not known whether this phenomenon is observed across metazoans. Here we report transcriptional adaptation in C. elegans, and find that this process requires factors involved in mutant mRNA decay, as in zebrafish and mouse. We further uncover a requirement for Argonaute proteins and Dicer, factors involved in small RNA maturation and transport into the nucleus. Altogether, these results provide evidence for transcriptional adaptation in C. elegans, a powerful model to further investigate underlying molecular mechanisms.

中文翻译：

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秀丽隐杆线虫的转录适应

转录适应是最近描述的现象，通过该现象，一个基因中的突变导致相关基因的转录调节，称为适应基因。在分子水平上，已经提出突变的mRNA而不是蛋白质功能的丧失激活了这种应答。虽然已经在斑马鱼的胚胎和小鼠细胞系中报道了转录适应的几个例子，但尚不清楚是否在后生动物中观察到这种现象。在这里，我们报告线虫的转录适应，并且发现此过程需要与突变的mRNA衰减有关的因子，例如在斑马鱼和小鼠中。我们进一步揭示了对精子RNA和切丁机（一种参与小RNA成熟并转运到细胞核中的因子）的需求。总之，这些结果为秀丽隐杆线虫的转录适应提供了证据，秀丽隐杆线虫是进一步研究潜在分子机制的强大模型。