ArticleGenome biology and evolution2020
piRNA Clusters Need a Minimum Size to Control Transposable Element Invasions.
Article in Genome biology and evolution, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed.
- Landscape and biogenesis of piRNAs in HBV-associated hepatocarcinogenesis: from repetitive elements to oncogenic circuits.Discover oncology · 2026Review
- Rapid evolution and comparative analysis of piRNA clusters inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- The impact of insertion bias into piRNA clusters on the invasion of transposable elements.BMC 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
- Purifying selection shapes the dynamics of P-element invasion in Drosophila simulans populations.Genome biology · 2025Article
- Double trouble: two retrotransposons triggered a cascade of invasions in Drosophila species within the last 50 years.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Article
- Mammalian PIWI-piRNA-target complexes reveal features for broad and efficient target silencing.Nature structural & molecular biology · 2024Article
- Rapid evolution of piRNA clusters in theGenome research · 2024Article
- Experimentally evolvingGenome research · 2024Article
- Article
- Unistrand piRNA clusters are an evolutionarily conserved mechanism to suppress endogenous retroviruses across the Drosophila genus.Nature communications · 2023Article
- The composition of piRNA clusters in Drosophila melanogaster deviates from expectations under the trap model.BMC biology · 2023Article
- Rapid evolutionary diversification of the flamenco locus across simulans clade Drosophila species.PLoS genetics · 2023Article
- First characterization of PIWI-interacting RNA clusters in a cichlid fish with a B chromosome.BMC biology · 2022Article
- The Transposition Rate Has Little Influence on the Plateauing Level of the P-element.Molecular biology and evolution · 2022Article
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Abstract
piRNA clusters are thought to repress transposable element (TE) activity in mammals and invertebrates. Here, we show that a simple population genetics model reveals a constraint on the size of piRNA clusters: The total size of the piRNA clusters of an organism must exceed 0.2% of a genome to repress TE invasions. Moreover, larger piRNA clusters accounting for up to 3% of the genome may be necessary when populations are small, transposition rates are high, and TE insertions are recessive. If piRNA clusters are too small, the load of deleterious TE insertions that accumulate during a TE invasion may drive populations extinct before an effective piRNA-based defense against the TE can be established. Our findings are solely based on three well-supported assumptions: 1) TEs multiply within genomes, 2) TEs are mostly deleterious, and 3) piRNA clusters act as transposon traps, where a single insertion in a cluster silences all TE copies in trans. Interestingly, the piRNA clusters of some species meet our observed minimum size requirements, whereas the clusters of other species do not. Species with small piRNA clusters, such as humans and mice, may experience severe fitness reductions during invasions of novel TEs, which is possibly even threatening the persistence of some populations. This work also raises the important question of how piRNA clusters evolve. We propose that the size of piRNA clusters may be at an equilibrium between evolutionary forces that act to expand and contract piRNA clusters.
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