ArticleMolecular cell2021
Large Drosophila germline piRNA clusters are evolutionarily labile and dispensable for transposon regulation.
Article in Molecular cell, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 60 papers.
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Who cites it
60 citing papers in PubMed, 101 citations in OpenAlex.
- Landscape and biogenesis of piRNAs in HBV-associated hepatocarcinogenesis: from repetitive elements to oncogenic circuits.Discover oncology · 2026Review
- Retrovirus insertions in host transcripts trigger de novo piRNA immunity.The EMBO journal · 2026Article
- Adaptive P-element Insertions in a Long Non-Coding RNA are Potential Emerging piRNA Clusters.Genome biology and evolution · 2026Article
- AbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Rapid disassembly and Piwi-independent reassembly ofRNA (New York, N.Y.) · 2026Article
- piRAT: piRNA Annotation Tool for annotating, analyzing, and visualizing piRNAs.BMC bioinformatics · 2026Article
- Rapid evolution and comparative analysis of piRNA clusters inbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Complete transition from chromosomal to cytoplasmic sex determination during prolonged Wolbachia symbiosis.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Potential for gene silencing by piwi-interacting RNA in three lepidopterans.Frontiers in insect science · 2026Article
- Systematic analysis of noncanonical ribosomal protein paralogs does not provide evidence for specialized functions inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Polyommatine Blue Butterflies Reveal Unexpected Integrity of the W Sex Chromosome Amid Extensive Chromosomal Fragmentation Linked to Telomere Restoration.Genome biology and evolution · 2025Article
- The impact of insertion bias into piRNA clusters on the invasion of transposable elements.BMC biology · 2025Article
- The Role of PIWI-Interacting RNA in Urologic Carcinoma and Its Clinical Implications.Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.) · 2025Review
- 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
- Abundant piRNA production mediated by theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- piRNA processing within non-membrane structures is governed by constituent proteins and their functional motifs.The FEBS journal · 2025Review
- Evolution of piRNA-guided defense against transposable elements.Trends in genetics : TIG · 2025Review
- Paramutation-Like Behavior of Genic piRNA-Producing Loci inInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Traffic Jam activates the Flamenco piRNA cluster locus and the Piwi pathway to ensure transposon silencing and Drosophila fertility.Cell reports · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
PIWI proteins and their guiding Piwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNAs) are crucial for fertility and transposon defense in the animal germline. In most species, the majority of piRNAs are produced from distinct large genomic loci, called piRNA clusters. It is assumed that germline-expressed piRNA clusters, particularly in Drosophila, act as principal regulators to control transposons dispersed across the genome. Here, using synteny analysis, we show that large clusters are evolutionarily labile, arise at loci characterized by recurrent chromosomal rearrangements, and are mostly species-specific across the Drosophila genus. By engineering chromosomal deletions in D. melanogaster, we demonstrate that the three largest germline clusters, which account for the accumulation of >40% of all transposon-targeting piRNAs in ovaries, are neither required for fertility nor for transposon regulation in trans. We provide further evidence that dispersed elements, rather than the regulatory action of large Drosophila germline clusters in trans, may be central for transposon defense.
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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.