ArticleNature ecology & evolution2018
Pan-arthropod analysis reveals somatic piRNAs as an ancestral defence against transposable elements.
Article in Nature ecology & evolution, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 171 papers.
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Who cites it
171 citing papers in PubMed.
- Characterization of a novel Iflavirus from the locust Calliptamus italicus in Xinjiang, China.Virus genes · 2026Article
- An evolutionarily conserved N-terminal domain of RRF-3 governs GTSF-1 binding in nematodes.EMBO reports · 2026Article
- The piRNA pathway mediates transcriptional silencing of LTR retrotransposons in ovaries and somatic tissues of Aedes mosquitoes.Nucleic acids research · 2026Article
- Lifestyles ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Identification of Partitivirus-like RdRPs in theViruses · 2026Article
- Primordial Germ Cell Development in Teleosts: Their Origin, Fate and Role in Sex Determination.Stem cell reviews and reports · 2026Review
- Divergent Evolutionary Profile ofAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Small RNA genomics of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes discovers infectious viruses that trigger an RNA interference response.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The evolution of the immune system of bees is defined by conservation, expansions, and losses.BMC biology · 2026Article
- The Missing Piece: Functional Telomerase Restored in the Beetle Model.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- The role of KRAB zinc-finger proteins in expanding the domestication potential of transposable elements.Nature genetics · 2026Review
- Epimutations: raw material for evolution?The EMBO journal · 2026Review
- The making and breaking of insect endogenous retroviruses.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- A solinvivirus induces cellular antiviral responses and reduces the lifespan of adult black soldier flies.The Journal of general virology · 2026Article
- piRAT: piRNA Annotation Tool for annotating, analyzing, and visualizing piRNAs.BMC bioinformatics · 2026Article
- The dynamic interplay between viruses and host non-coding RNA species.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
- Potential for gene silencing by piwi-interacting RNA in three lepidopterans.Frontiers in insect science · 2026Article
- Article
- Analysis of somatic piRNAs in the malaria mosquitoRNA biology · 2025Article
- Homology search confirms widespread presence of BBSome proteins in Hexapoda with implications for potential non-ciliary BBS protein functions in honey bees.Scientific reports · 2025Article
111 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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15 authors.
Funding
Abstract
In animals, small RNA molecules termed PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) silence transposable elements (TEs), protecting the germline from genomic instability and mutation. piRNAs have been detected in the soma in a few animals, but these are believed to be specific adaptations of individual species. Here, we report that somatic piRNAs were probably present in the ancestral arthropod more than 500 million years ago. Analysis of 20 species across the arthropod phylum suggests that somatic piRNAs targeting TEs and messenger RNAs are common among arthropods. The presence of an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in chelicerates (horseshoe crabs, spiders and scorpions) suggests that arthropods originally used a plant-like RNA interference mechanism to silence TEs. Our results call into question the view that the ancestral role of the piRNA pathway was to protect the germline and demonstrate that small RNA silencing pathways have been repurposed for both somatic and germline functions throughout arthropod evolution.
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