Piwi induces piRNA-guided transcriptional silencing and establishment of a repressive chromatin state
Year: 2013
Type: preprint
Abstract: In the metazoan germline, piwi proteins and associated piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) provide a defense system against the expression of transposable elements. In the cytoplasm, piRNA sequences guide piwi complexes to destroy complementary transposon transcripts by endonucleolytic cleavage. However, some piwi family members are nuclear, raising the possibility of alternative pathways for piRNA-mediated regulation of gene expression. We found that Drosophila Piwi is recruited to chromatin, colocalizing with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) on polytene chromosomes. Knockdown of Piwi in the germline increases expression of transposable elements that are targeted by piRNAs, whereas protein-coding genes remain largely unaffected. Derepression of transposons upon Piwi depletion correlates with increased occupancy of Pol II on their promoters. Expression of piRNAs that target a reporter construct results in a decrease in Pol II occupancy and an increase in repressive H3K9me3 marks and heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) on the reporter locus. Our results indicate that Piwi identifies targets complementary to the associated piRNA and induces transcriptional repression by establishing a repressive chromatin state when correct targets are found.
Source: Genes & Development
Language: English
Subfield: Genetics
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: Ellison Medical Foundation, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, California Institute of Technology, National Institutes of Health, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
OpenAlex ID: W2125155400