Fallen immortals.
The memory of somatic cell gene expression is reset in the germline in a process that is accompanied by dramatic changes in chromatin modifications. In this issue, Katz et al. (2009) show that the histone demethylase Lsd1/Spr-5 may participate in this resetting process in the worm, thereby preventing a decline in germ cell epigenetic stability and viability over ensuing generations.
Swigut
Tomek
T
Department of Chemical and Systems Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Wysocka
Joanna
J
D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006657:Histones / Q000378:metabolism; D010089:Oxidoreductases, N-Demethylating
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D006657:Histones; D010089:Oxidoreductases, N-Demethylating; C468848:SPR-5 protein, C elegans