Thermosensory neurons control genetic inheritance through regulation of germline transposons

Epigenetic inheritance can be influenced by environmental conditions and somatic inputs originating from different tissues. Such transgenerational inheritance is reversable as it does not lead to mutations and thus alterations in the genetic information. Epigenetic mechanisms such as small RNAs (sRNAs) in the germline silence transposable elements (TEs), which comprise a significant portion of the genome. TE mobility can be mutagenic and is thought to contribute to genome evolution by altering genome structure and diversification. In C. elegans elevated temperature leads to desilencing of TEs in the germline, suggesting that environmental conditions could impact the integrity of inheritable genomes. Here, we show that dysfunction of the AFD thermosensory neurons leads to desilencing of TEs in the germline. The TE activity results in de novo insertions and mutagenesis. Our data indicate that neuronal sensing of environmental conditions can alter genetic inheritance through stress-induced TE mutagenesis thus shaping genome evolution.