Distinct regulatory mechanisms by the nuclear Argonautes HRDE-1 and NRDE-3 in the soma of Caenorhabditis elegans

RNA interference is a conserved silencing mechanism that depends on the generation of small RNA molecules that disrupt synthesis of their corresponding transcripts. Nuclear RNA interference is a unique process that triggers regulation through epigenetic alterations to the genome. This pathway has been extensively characterized in Caenorhabditis elegans and involves the nuclear recruitment of H3K9 histone methyltransferases by the Argonautes HRDE-1 and NRDE-3. The coordinate regulation of genetic targets by H3K9 methylation and the nuclear Argonautes is highly complex and has been mainly described based on the small RNA populations that are involved.

Recent studies have also linked the nuclear RNAi pathway to the compaction of the hermaphrodite X chromosomes during dosage compensation, a mechanism that balances genetic differences between the biological sexes by repressing X chromosomes in hermaphrodites. This chromosome-wide process provides an excellent opportunity to further investigate the relationship between H3K9 methylation and the nuclear Argonautes from the perspective of the transcriptome. Our work suggests that the nuclear RNAi and the H3K9 methylation pathways each contribute to the condensation of the X chromosomes during dosage compensation but the consequences on their transcriptional output are minimal. Instead, nuclear RNAi mutants exhibit global transcriptional differences, in which HRDE-1 and NRDE-3 affect expression of their native targets through different modes of regulation and different relationships to H3K9 methylation.

ARTICLE SUMMARY

This study examines the transcriptional consequences during the disruption of the nuclear RNAi silencing mechanism in C. elegans . Through microscopy and bioinformatic work, we demonstrate that although nuclear RNAi mutants exhibit significantly decondensed X chromosomes, chromosome-wide transcriptional de-repression is not detectable. Downstream analyses further explore the global influence of the nuclear RNAi pathway, indicating that the nuclear Argonautes HRDE-1 and NRDE-3 function through two distinct mechanisms.