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Genetic and Epigenetic Inactivation of Repetitive Sequences in Neurospora crassa: RIP, DNA Methylation, and Quelling

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Gene Silencing in Higher Plants and Related Phenomena in Other Eukaryotes

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology ((CT MICROBIOLOGY,volume 197))

Abstract

The genome of the filamentous fungus Neurospora crassa is approximately 100-fold smaller than that of vertebrates, and contains little repetitive DNA. The existence of repeat-induced point mutation (RIP; reviewed in Selker 1990b) and quelling (Pandit and Russo 1992; Romano and Macino 1992) may account for the rarity of repetitive sequences. RIP is a dramatic example of gene inactivation: duplicated gene-sized DNA sequences are efficiently detected and peppered with transition mutations in the sexual phase of the Neurospora life cycle. Asexual inactivation of repeated genes, termed quelling, has also been observed in some Neurospora transformants. DNA methylation is often associated with quelling and RIP, but methylation has not been demonstrated to be a requirement for these processes. Many eukaryotic organisms can silence repetitive genes. The phenomena in higher plants referred to as trans-inactivation, co-suppression, and RIGS (repeat induced gene silencing), reviewed in Matzke and Matzke (1993) and in other chapters of this volume, show similarities to RIP and quelling. It is still unclear, however, whether the phenomena in plants are mechanistically related to gene inactivation processes operating in fungi.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Molecular Biology, University of Oregon, 97403, Eugene, OR, USA

    M. J. Singer & E. U. Selker

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  1. M. J. Singer
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  2. E. U. Selker
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  1. Max-Delbrück-Laboratorium in der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Carl-von-Linné-Weg 10, 50829, Köln, Germany

    Peter Meyer

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© 1995 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Singer, M.J., Selker, E.U. (1995). Genetic and Epigenetic Inactivation of Repetitive Sequences in Neurospora crassa: RIP, DNA Methylation, and Quelling. In: Meyer, P. (eds) Gene Silencing in Higher Plants and Related Phenomena in Other Eukaryotes. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 197. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79145-1_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79145-1_11

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-79147-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-79145-1

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