FIG 8 .

Model of transgenerational RNAi-induced dauer formation in response to pathogens. Pathogenic bacteria in the intestine of C. elegans produce a molecule, likely a dsRNA, that constitutes the trigger for the RNAi-dependent transgenerational dauer formation response to pathogenesis. RNAi effectors first transport the dsRNA molecule from the intestine to the soma (SID-2, SID-1, and SID-3) of the animal (in the diagram, all tissues except the germ line are grouped as “soma” for simplicity), and later, the AGO proteins process and amplify the RNA information, which accumulates in the germ line and is inherited by the F2 progeny.