ArticleMolecular cell2018
A Single Mechanism of Biogenesis, Initiated and Directed by PIWI Proteins, Explains piRNA Production in Most Animals.
Article in Molecular cell, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 142 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
142 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 250 citations in OpenAlex.
- PIWI family proteins as prognostic markers in cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS · 2020Pooled it
- Retrovirus insertions in host transcripts trigger de novo piRNA immunity.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- Spatiotemporal control of PIWI compartmentalization by mitochondrial scaffolds defines pachytene piRNA pathway organization.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026Article
- Geographic genetic divergence and ecological viral communities shape the virome of Chilo suppressalis.Microbiome · 2026Article
- Conserved but mechanistically diverse piRNA defence against endogenous retroviruses in insects.EMBO reports · 2026Article
- Small RNA genomics of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes discovers infectious viruses that trigger an RNA interference response.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Transcription factor NFYA directs male meiotic entry by regulating accessible chromatin at meiotic promoters in mice.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- A homozygous PIWIL1 frameshift variant triggers azoospermia and reveals a strong selective constraint on germline genome integrity.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2026Article
- Article
- Reproductive phasiRNAs are the piRNAs of plants.Trends in genetics : TIG · 2026Review
- piRAT: piRNA Annotation Tool for annotating, analyzing, and visualizing piRNAs.BMC bioinformatics · 2026Article
- piR-1170 drives brain metastasis and immune evasion via WTAP-mediated m6A methylation reprogramming in triple-negative breast cancer.Molecular cancer · 2026Article
- Biological roles and clinical potential of piRNAs in cancer: Insights into glioblastoma.Iranian journal of basic medical sciences · 2026Review
- Article
- Comprehensive characterization of non-retroviral endogenous viral elements in the rice pest Chilo suppressalis.BMC genomics · 2025Article
- Article
- Gene regulation by non-Coding RNAs in infertility: a mechanistic review.Journal of ovarian research · 2025Review
- Spatiotemporal control of PIWI compartmentalization by mitochondrial scaffolds defines pachytene piRNA pathway organization.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Dynamic Regulation of Gonadal Transposons and Pseudogenes via PIWI/piRNA Pathway in Gynogenetic Japanese Flounder (Biology · 2025Article
- SMARCA5 restricts chromatin accessibility to promote male meiosis and fertility in mammals.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
82 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
In animals, PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) guide PIWI proteins to silence transposons and regulate gene expression. The mechanisms for making piRNAs have been proposed to differ among cell types, tissues, and animals. Our data instead suggest a single model that explains piRNA production in most animals. piRNAs initiate piRNA production by guiding PIWI proteins to slice precursor transcripts. Next, PIWI proteins direct the stepwise fragmentation of the sliced precursor transcripts, yielding tail-to-head strings of phased precursor piRNAs (pre-piRNAs). Our analyses detect evidence for this piRNA biogenesis strategy across an evolutionarily broad range of animals, including humans. Thus, PIWI proteins initiate and sustain piRNA biogenesis by the same mechanism in species whose last common ancestor predates the branching of most animal lineages. The unified model places PIWI-clade Argonautes at the center of piRNA biology and suggests that the ancestral animal-the Urmetazoan-used PIWI proteins both to generate piRNA guides and to execute piRNA function.
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Registered trials
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.