Conine, Colin C.Moresco, James J.Gu, WeifengShirayama, MasakiConte, Darryl Jr.Yates, John R. IIIMello, Craig C.2022-08-232022-08-232013-12-192014-01-07Conine, C.C., Moresco, J.J., Gu, W., Shirayama, M., Conte, D., Jr., Yates, J.R., 3rd, and Mello, C.C. (2013). Argonautes Promote Male Fertility and Provide a Paternal Memory of Germline Gene Expression in C. elegans. Cell 155(7):1532-1544. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2013.11.032. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2013.11.032">Link to article on publisher's website</a>10.1016/j.cell.2013.11.03224360276https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/33315During each life cycle, germ cells preserve and pass on both genetic and epigenetic information. In C. elegans, the ALG-3/4 Argonaute proteins are expressed during male gametogenesis and promote male fertility. Here, we show that the CSR-1 Argonaute functions with ALG-3/4 to positively regulate target genes required for spermiogenesis. Our findings suggest that ALG-3/4 functions during spermatogenesis to amplify a small RNA signal that represents an epigenetic memory of male-specific gene expression. CSR-1, which is abundant in mature sperm, appears to transmit this memory to offspring. Surprisingly, in addition to small RNAs targeting male-specific genes, we show that males also harbor an extensive repertoire of CSR-1 small RNAs targeting oogenesis-specific mRNAs. Together, these findings suggest that C. elegans sperm transmit not only the genome but also epigenetic binary signals in the form of Argonaute/small RNA complexes that constitute a memory of gene expression in preceding generations.en-USEpigeneticsRNAiSmall RNAArgonauteGermline SpermBioinformaticsBiologyCell BiologyDevelopmental BiologyGeneticsGenomicsMolecular GeneticsJournal Articlehttps://escholarship.umassmed.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2862&amp;context=gsbs_sp&amp;unstamped=1https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/gsbs_sp/18434966509gsbs_sp/1843