TY - JOUR
T1 - Discrete Small RNA-Generating Loci as Master Regulators of Transposon Activity in Drosophila
AU - Brennecke, Julius
AU - Aravin, Alexei A.
AU - Stark, Alexander
AU - Dus, Monica
AU - Kellis, Manolis
AU - Sachidanandam, Ravi
AU - Hannon, Gregory J.
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank members of the Hannon laboratory for helpful discussions and support. Ahmet Denli (CSHL) provided antibodies, and Stuart Shuman (MSKCC) provided the expression vector for Rnl2. We thank Andrew Olson and Ted Roeder for bioinformatic support and Stephen Hearn (CSHL) for assistance with confocal microscopy. J.B. and A.S. are supported by fellowships from the Ernst Schering Foundation. A.A. is supported by a fellowship from the CSHL Association. M.D. is an Engelhorn Scholar of the Watson School of Biological Sciences. G.J.H. is an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This work was supported by grants from the N.I.H. (G.J.H.).
PY - 2007/3/23
Y1 - 2007/3/23
N2 - Drosophila Piwi-family proteins have been implicated in transposon control. Here, we examine piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) associated with each Drosophila Piwi protein and find that Piwi and Aubergine bind RNAs that are predominantly antisense to transposons, whereas Ago3 complexes contain predominantly sense piRNAs. As in mammals, the majority of Drosophila piRNAs are derived from discrete genomic loci. These loci comprise mainly defective transposon sequences, and some have previously been identified as master regulators of transposon activity. Our data suggest that heterochromatic piRNA loci interact with potentially active, euchromatic transposons to form an adaptive system for transposon control. Complementary relationships between sense and antisense piRNA populations suggest an amplification loop wherein each piRNA-directed cleavage event generates the 5′ end of a new piRNA. Thus, sense piRNAs, formed following cleavage of transposon mRNAs may enhance production of antisense piRNAs, complementary to active elements, by directing cleavage of transcripts from master control loci.
AB - Drosophila Piwi-family proteins have been implicated in transposon control. Here, we examine piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) associated with each Drosophila Piwi protein and find that Piwi and Aubergine bind RNAs that are predominantly antisense to transposons, whereas Ago3 complexes contain predominantly sense piRNAs. As in mammals, the majority of Drosophila piRNAs are derived from discrete genomic loci. These loci comprise mainly defective transposon sequences, and some have previously been identified as master regulators of transposon activity. Our data suggest that heterochromatic piRNA loci interact with potentially active, euchromatic transposons to form an adaptive system for transposon control. Complementary relationships between sense and antisense piRNA populations suggest an amplification loop wherein each piRNA-directed cleavage event generates the 5′ end of a new piRNA. Thus, sense piRNAs, formed following cleavage of transposon mRNAs may enhance production of antisense piRNAs, complementary to active elements, by directing cleavage of transcripts from master control loci.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/33947273235
U2 - 10.1016/j.cell.2007.01.043
DO - 10.1016/j.cell.2007.01.043
M3 - Article
C2 - 17346786
AN - SCOPUS:33947273235
SN - 0092-8674
VL - 128
SP - 1089
EP - 1103
JO - Cell
JF - Cell
IS - 6
ER -