Defects in RNA quality control factors reveal RNAi-independent nucleation of heterochromatin

Previous analyses have indicated that heterochromatin assembly in Schizosaccharomyces pombe involves an RNAi-mediated mechanism. Analyses aimed at elucidating the targeting of heterochromatin at centromeres now show that RNAi-independent mechanisms exist that also exploit transcription and non-coding RNAs to promote heterochromatin formation.