Transcriptional and chromatin changes accompanying de novo formation of transgenic piRNA clusters.

ABSTRACT: Expression of transposable elements in the germline is controlled by Piwi-interacting (pi) RNAs produced by genomic loci termed piRNA clusters and associated with Rhino, a heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) homolog. Previously, we have shown that transgenes containing a fragment of the I retrotransposon form de novo piRNA clusters in the Drosophila germline providing suppression of I-element activity. We noted that identical transgenes located in different genomic sites vary considerably in piRNA production and classified them as "strong" and "weak" piRNA clusters. Here, we investigated what chromatin and transcriptional changes occur at the transgene insertion sites after their conversion into piRNA clusters. We found that the formation of a transgenic piRNA cluster is a

SUBMITTER: Akulenko N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5855956 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature