Repository logo
 

Large Drosophila germline piRNA clusters are evolutionarily labile and dispensable for transposon regulation.

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Neubert, Lena K 
Lloyd, Catrin 
Lehmann, Ruth 

Abstract

PIWI proteins and their guiding Piwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNAs) are crucial for fertility and transposon defense in the animal germline. In most species, the majority of piRNAs are produced from distinct large genomic loci, called piRNA clusters. It is assumed that germline-expressed piRNA clusters, particularly in Drosophila, act as principal regulators to control transposons dispersed across the genome. Here, using synteny analysis, we show that large clusters are evolutionarily labile, arise at loci characterized by recurrent chromosomal rearrangements, and are mostly species-specific across the Drosophila genus. By engineering chromosomal deletions in D. melanogaster, we demonstrate that the three largest germline clusters, which account for the accumulation of >40% of all transposon-targeting piRNAs in ovaries, are neither required for fertility nor for transposon regulation in trans. We provide further evidence that dispersed elements, rather than the regulatory action of large Drosophila germline clusters in trans, may be central for transposon defense.

Description

Keywords

chromosome inversions, flamenco, fruit fly, gene silencing, germ cells, gypsy12, heterochromatin, position-effect variegation, sterility, transposable elements, Animals, Animals, Genetically Modified, Argonaute Proteins, Chromosome Deletion, Chromosomes, Insect, DNA Transposable Elements, Drosophila Proteins, Drosophila melanogaster, Evolution, Molecular, Female, Fertility, Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental, Multigene Family, Ovary, RNA Stability, RNA, Small Interfering

Journal Title

Mol Cell

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1097-2765
1097-4164

Volume Title

81

Publisher

Elsevier BV
Sponsorship
Wellcome Trust (206257/Z/17/Z)
Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) (CDA00032/2018-C)
Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)