---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
PlanS_conform: '1'
_id: '23198'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Small RNAs (sRNAs) are widespread across diverse flowering plant species and
    play important roles regulating reproduction and environmental responses. However,
    how sRNAs exert their function is largely unknown, likely due to their typical
    origin in non-genic regions, the lack of distinct gene targets, and the sparse
    characterization of their associated Argonaute (AGO) effector proteins. Here we
    show that Arabidopsis male reproductive sRNAs associate with AGO4, 5, 6 and 9,
    all of which are enriched in meiocytes along with RNA Polymerase V (Pol V). This
    enables these sRNAs to methylate loci with imperfect sequence homology. AGO4,
    AGO6 and AGO9 predominantly load 24-nucleotide (nt) Pol IV-derived sRNAs and mediate
    DNA methylation in meiocytes in a dosage-dependent manner. Despite closer homology
    to microRNA-associated AGO1 and AGO10, AGO5 primarily binds CLSY3- and Pol IV-derived
    21-24 nt sRNAs. Transcriptomic and methylomic analyses of meiocytes from single
    and compound ago mutants demonstrate distinct yet complementary roles of AGO4/6/9
    and AGO5 in regulating protein-coding genes and silencing transposons in the germline.
    These molecular disruptions are accompanied by significant meiotic defects. Together,
    our findings reveal how AGO4/6/9-mediated DNA methylation and AGO5, likely acting
    through post-transcriptional gene silencing, work together to promote male germline
    development.
acknowledgement: We thank Michael J. Axtell for generously sharing ago4-4 ago6-2,
  ago6-2 ago9-1 double and ago4-4 ago6-2 ago9-1 triple mutants. We thank the John
  Innes Centre Bioimaging Facility and ISTA Imaging and Optics Facility for their
  assistance with the confocal microscopy, and the ISTA Scientific Computing Facility
  for high performance computing resources. This work was funded by a Marie Curie
  Postdoctoral Fellowship (101153710; C.Y.), a European Union’s Horizon 2020 research
  and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034413
  (ISTA Bridge Fellowship) (S.X.), a DFG grant (FOR 5235 CSCS; A.S.), a European Research
  Council (ERC) Starting Grant (804981; X.F) and an ERC Consolidator Grant (101126201;
  C.Y. and XF).
article_number: '10758'
article_processing_charge: Yes
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Jincheng
  full_name: Long, Jincheng
  last_name: Long
- first_name: Chao
  full_name: Yang, Chao
  id: 082e3e6e-8069-11ed-8390-c8cce7b1aaca
  last_name: Yang
- first_name: Shujuan
  full_name: Xu, Shujuan
  id: 9724dd9d-f591-11ee-bd51-e97ed0652286
  last_name: Xu
- first_name: Joke G
  full_name: De Jaeger-Braet, Joke G
  id: 26bd38d3-c59a-11ee-a1af-d7a988cafcc5
  last_name: De Jaeger-Braet
- first_name: Wenjing
  full_name: She, Wenjing
  last_name: She
- first_name: Seijiro
  full_name: Ono, Seijiro
  last_name: Ono
- first_name: James
  full_name: Walker, James
  last_name: Walker
- first_name: Ygor
  full_name: de Souza Vieira, Ygor
  id: af019b77-d2a9-11f1-9e65-c47a5932b764
  last_name: de Souza Vieira
- first_name: Arp
  full_name: Schnittger, Arp
  last_name: Schnittger
- first_name: Xiaoqi
  full_name: Feng, Xiaoqi
  id: e0164712-22ee-11ed-b12a-d80fcdf35958
  last_name: Feng
  orcid: 0000-0002-4008-1234
citation:
  ama: Long J, Yang C, Xu S, et al. Multiple Argonaute complexes orchestrate epigenetic
    silencing in the Arabidopsis germline. <i>Nature Communications</i>. 2026;17.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1">10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1</a>
  apa: Long, J., Yang, C., Xu, S., De Jaeger-Braet, J. G., She, W., Ono, S., … Feng,
    X. (2026). Multiple Argonaute complexes orchestrate epigenetic silencing in the
    Arabidopsis germline. <i>Nature Communications</i>. Springer Nature. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1</a>
  chicago: Long, Jincheng, Chao Yang, Shujuan Xu, Joke G De Jaeger-Braet, Wenjing
    She, Seijiro Ono, James Walker, Ygor de Souza Vieira, Arp Schnittger, and Xiaoqi
    Feng. “Multiple Argonaute Complexes Orchestrate Epigenetic Silencing in the Arabidopsis
    Germline.” <i>Nature Communications</i>. Springer Nature, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1</a>.
  ieee: J. Long <i>et al.</i>, “Multiple Argonaute complexes orchestrate epigenetic
    silencing in the Arabidopsis germline,” <i>Nature Communications</i>, vol. 17.
    Springer Nature, 2026.
  ista: Long J, Yang C, Xu S, De Jaeger-Braet JG, She W, Ono S, Walker J, de Souza
    Vieira Y, Schnittger A, Feng X. 2026. Multiple Argonaute complexes orchestrate
    epigenetic silencing in the Arabidopsis germline. Nature Communications. 17, 10758.
  mla: Long, Jincheng, et al. “Multiple Argonaute Complexes Orchestrate Epigenetic
    Silencing in the Arabidopsis Germline.” <i>Nature Communications</i>, vol. 17,
    10758, Springer Nature, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1">10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1</a>.
  short: J. Long, C. Yang, S. Xu, J.G. De Jaeger-Braet, W. She, S. Ono, J. Walker,
    Y. de Souza Vieira, A. Schnittger, X. Feng, Nature Communications 17 (2026).
corr_author: '1'
das_tickbox: '1'
dataavailabilitystatement: Illumina sequencing data (RIP-seq, BS-seq, and RNA-seq)
  generated in this study have been deposited in the NCBI BioProject and are accessible
  under accession number PRJNA1192978. Published BS-seq data of Arabidopsis meiocyte
  used in this study for Fig. 4a are available in the NCBI GEO database under accession
  code GSE161625. All custom codes are available via the request to the corresponding
  author.
date_created: 2026-10-27T10:38:56Z
date_published: 2026-10-14T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-10-28T08:43:20Z
day: '14'
ddc:
- '580'
department:
- _id: XiFe
doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
  pmid:
  - '42869904'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: f24efcba89d880d48fef04b780923780
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  creator: dernst
  date_created: 2026-10-28T08:41:06Z
  date_updated: 2026-10-28T08:41:06Z
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fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-77326-1
has_accepted_license: '1'
intvolume: '        17'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '10'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
pmid: 1
project:
- _id: 8e917275-16d5-11f0-9cad-fee255fa62e0
  grant_number: '101153710'
  name: The moleculaR mEchAnismS Of dNa methylatIon reprogrammiNg in Arabidopsis sexual
    lineaGe
- _id: fc2ed2f7-9c52-11eb-aca3-c01059dda49c
  call_identifier: H2020
  grant_number: '101034413'
  name: 'IST-BRIDGE: International postdoctoral program'
- _id: bdb51a6e-d553-11ed-ba76-c2025f3d5725
  call_identifier: H2020
  grant_number: '804981'
  name: Establishment, modulation and inheritance of sexual lineage specific DNA methylation
    in plants
- _id: 7c012eb8-9f16-11ee-852c-dc2b6371d5a0
  grant_number: '101126201'
  name: Mechanisms and biological functions of H3K27me3 reprogramming in plant microspores
publication: Nature Communications
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 2041-1723
publication_status: published
publisher: Springer Nature
quality_controlled: '1'
researchdata_availability: yes
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
supplementarymaterial: yes
title: Multiple Argonaute complexes orchestrate epigenetic silencing in the Arabidopsis
  germline
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 17
year: '2026'
...