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Defining the functions of PIWI-interacting RNAs

Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology volume 22, pages 239–240 (2021)Cite this article

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In the animal germ line, PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) silence transposons and may also control gene expression. Distinct, but not incompatible, models have been proposed for how piRNAs regulate genes. To promote discussion in the small RNA community of how best to test these models, we propose criteria for validating piRNA function.

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) have a central role in animal gametogenesis and fertility, silencing transposons, fighting viruses and regulating endogenous genes1. Although the proteins and mechanisms responsible for piRNA formation are conserved across metazoa, piRNA sequences are rarely conserved, even between closely related species. Transposon-silencing piRNA sequences drift as older transposons decay and new transposon invasions demand novel piRNAs to protect the germline genome. Consequently, positive selection maintains only piRNAs that target the youngest, active transposons. The extraordinary diversity of piRNA sequences favours the evolution of species-specific functions: regulation of specific mRNAs by piRNAs is typically derived (that is, arising de novo in a lineage), rather than ancestral2.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA

    Pei-Hsuan Wu & Phillip D. Zamore

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  1. Pei-Hsuan Wu
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  2. Phillip D. Zamore
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Correspondence to Pei-Hsuan Wu or Phillip D. Zamore.

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Wu, PH., Zamore, P.D. Defining the functions of PIWI-interacting RNAs. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 22, 239–240 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-021-00336-y

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