A transposable element silencing mechanism mediated by RNA-directed DNA methylation. RNA-directed DNA methylation is a gene silencing process in which small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) guide DNA methylation to the siRNA-generating genomic loci and other loci that are homologous to the siRNAs for de novo DNA methylation. This results in a heterochromatin assembly, a chromatin conformation that is refractory to transcription.
retrostransposon silencing by RdDM