Sterility in the offspring of spr-5; met-2 mutants may be caused by inherited H3K4 methylation and altered germline transcription.

Abstract

During maternal reprogramming of histone methylation in C. elegans , H3K4me is removed by the histone demethylase, SPR-5 , and H3K9me is subsequently added by the histone methyltransferase, MET-2 . Maternal loss of SPR-5 and MET-2 causes inherited phenotypes, such as sterility, in the progeny. Here, we find that knocking down either the H3K4 methyltransferase SET-2 or the H3K36 methyltransferase MES-4 partially rescues the germline in the progeny of spr-5 ; met-2 mutants, suggesting that the inherited sterility may be caused by inherited H3K4 methylation and altered germline transcription.