piRNAs—the ancient hunters of genome invaders
- 1 Gene Center of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, D-81377 München, Germany;
- 2 Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0032;
- 3 PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Agency, Saitama, 332-0012, Japan;
- 4 Munich Center for integrated Protein Science (CiPSM), D-81377 München, Germany
Abstract
In addition to miRNAs and siRNAs, a third small RNA silencing system has been uncovered that prevents the spreading of selfish genetic elements. Production of the Piwi-associated RNAs (piRNAs), which mediate the silencing activity in this pathway, is initiated at a few master control regions within the genome. The nature of the primary piRNA-generating transcript is still unknown, but RNA interference (RNAi)-like cleavage events are likely defining the 5′-ends of mature piRNAs. We summarize the recent literature on piRNA biogenesis and function with an emphasis on work in Drosophila, where genetics and biochemistry have met very successfully.
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Footnotes
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↵5 Corresponding authors.
↵5 E-MAIL Foerstemann{at}lmb.uni-muenchen.de; FAX 49-89-218076945
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↵6 E-MAIL tomari{at}iam.u-tokyo.ac.jp; FAX 81-3-5841-8485.
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Article is online at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.1567007
- Copyright © 2007, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
