Gametes deficient for Pot1 telomere binding proteins alter levels of telomeric foci for multiple generations

Abstract

Lister-Shimauchi et al. find that gametes from mutants that lack the genes encoding telomere binding proteins POT-1 or POT-2 affect the levels of POT1 telomere foci in progeny, in opposite ways, for multiple generations and that gametes deficient in heterochromatin formation reduce POT1 foci. These findings provide unexpected insights into an interface of telomere biology with transgenerational epigenetic inheritance.