Figure 2.

Regulatory ncRNAs can promote heterochromatin formation (A) illustration of the hierarchy of GO terms for the annotation of ncRNA-mediated heterochromatin formation. An expanded view provided in Figure S1C shows these terms in the context of the ‘regulation of gene expression’ (GO:0010468) branch of the GO. The formation of heterochromatin can be initiated by si/piRNAs by the recruitment of (B) histone modifiers or (C) DNA methyltransferases. This is dependent on the species and curators should be careful when selecting the term. Retrotransposon-specific processes are described by specific terms and are linked to the ‘retrotransposon silencing’ (GO:0010526) branch of the GO (not shown).