Small RNA molecules participate in a variety of activities in the cell: in a process known as RNA interference (RNAi), double-stranded RNA triggers the degradation of messenger RNA that has a matching sequence; the small RNA intermediates of this process can also modify gene expression in the nucleus. Here we show that a single episode of RNAi in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans can induce transcrip-tional silencing effects that are inherited indefinitely in the absence of the original trigger. Our findings may prove useful in the ongoing development of RNAi to treat disease.
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