Histone-derived piRNA biogenesis depends on the ping-pong partners Piwi5 and Ago3 in Aedes aegypti.

ABSTRACT: The piRNA pathway is of key importance in controlling transposable elements in most animal species. In the vector mosquito Aedes aegypti, the presence of eight PIWI proteins and the accumulation of viral piRNAs upon arbovirus infection suggest additional functions of the piRNA pathway beyond genome defense. To better understand the regulatory potential of this pathway, we analyzed in detail host-derived piRNAs in A. aegypti Aag2 cells. We show that a large repertoire of protein-coding genes and non-retroviral integrated RNA virus elements are processed into genic piRNAs by different combinations of PIWI proteins. Among these, we identify a class of genes that produces piRNAs from coding sequences in an Ago3- and Piwi5-dependent fashion. We demonstrate that the replication-dependent histone

SUBMITTER: Girardi E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5416884 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature