ArticlePLoS biology2015
Ancient and novel small RNA pathways compensate for the loss of piRNAs in multiple independent nematode lineages.
Article in PLoS biology, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 94 papers.
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94 citing papers in PubMed, 154 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Epimutations: raw material for evolution?The EMBO journal · 2026Review
- Decoding Argonaute specificity: insights fromRNA (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Review
- piRNAs safeguard splicing and RNA fidelity during heat shock.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Lifespan-extending downregulation of insulin signalling reduces germline mutation load.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Rapid emergence of non-autonomous elements may stop P-element invasions in the absence of a piRNA-based host defence.PLoS genetics · 2025Article
- Substantial Hierarchical Reductions of Genetic and Morphological Traits in the Evolution of Rotiferan Parasites.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Spatiotemporal Tracking of Three Novel Transposable Element Invasions in Drosophila melanogaster over the Last 30 Years.Molecular biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Dynamic Birth and Death of Argonaute Gene Family Functional Repertoire Across Caenorhabditis Nematodes.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- Evolution of piRNA-guided defense against transposable elements.Trends in genetics : TIG · 2025Review
- On the origin of the P-element invasion in Drosophila simulans.Mobile DNA · 2025Article
- An AT-hook transcription factor promotes transcription of histone, spliced-leader, and piRNA clusters.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Sperm-borne small non-coding RNAs: potential functions and mechanisms as epigenetic carriers.Cell & bioscience · 2025Review
- Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 years.Nature communications · 2025Article
- The expanding role of microRNAs in the biology and control of veterinary parasitic nematodes.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2025Review
- GenomeDelta: detecting recent transposable element invasions without repeat library.Genome biology · 2024Article
- Diverse RNA viruses of parasitic nematodes can elicit antibody responses in vertebrate hosts.Nature microbiology · 2024Article
- Article
34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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15 authors at 9 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Small RNA pathways act at the front line of defence against transposable elements across the Eukaryota. In animals, Piwi interacting small RNAs (piRNAs) are a crucial arm of this defence. However, the evolutionary relationships among piRNAs and other small RNA pathways targeting transposable elements are poorly resolved. To address this question we sequenced small RNAs from multiple, diverse nematode species, producing the first phylum-wide analysis of how small RNA pathways evolve. Surprisingly, despite their prominence in Caenorhabditis elegans and closely related nematodes, piRNAs are absent in all other nematode lineages. We found that there are at least two evolutionarily distinct mechanisms that compensate for the absence of piRNAs, both involving RNA-dependent RNA polymerases (RdRPs). Whilst one pathway is unique to nematodes, the second involves Dicer-dependent RNA-directed DNA methylation, hitherto unknown in animals, and bears striking similarity to transposon-control mechanisms in fungi and plants. Our results highlight the rapid, context-dependent evolution of small RNA pathways and suggest piRNAs in animals may have replaced an ancient eukaryotic RNA-dependent RNA polymerase pathway to control transposable elements.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.