title: Paramutation in maize and related behaviors in metazoans.
abstract: Paramutation refers to both the process and results of trans-homolog interactions causing heritable changes in both gene regulation and silencing abilities. Originally described in plants, paramutation-like behaviors have now been reported in model metazoans. Here we detail our current understanding of the paramutation mechanism as defined in Zea mays and compare this paradigm to these metazoan examples. Experimental results implicate functional roles of small RNAs in all these model organisms that highlight a diversity of mechanisms by which these molecules specify meiotically heritable regulatory information in the eukarya.
authors: Department of Molecular Genetics, Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
authors: Janelle M
authors: JM
authors: Gabriel
authors: Department of Molecular Genetics, Center for RNA Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. Electronic address: hollick.3@osu.edu.
authors: Jay B
authors: JB
authors: Hollick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000235:genetics*; D003313:Zea mays / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D022661:RNA, Untranslated
keywords: Gene regulation; Non-Mendelian inheritance; Non-coding RNA; Paramutation; Trans-generational inheritance; Trans-silencing