Daedalus and Gasz recruit Armitage to mitochondria, bringing piRNA precursors to the biogenesis machinery.

ABSTRACT: The Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway is a small RNA-based immune system that silences mobile genetic elements in animal germlines. piRNA biogenesis requires a specialized machinery that converts long single-stranded precursors into small RNAs of ∼25-nucleotides in length. This process involves factors that operate in two different subcellular compartments: the nuage/Yb body and mitochondria. How these two sites communicate to achieve accurate substrate selection and efficient processing remains unclear. Here, we investigate a previously uncharacterized piRNA biogenesis factor, Daedalus (Daed), that is located on the outer mitochondrial membrane. Daed is essential for Zucchini-mediated piRNA production and the correct localization of the indispensable piRNA biogenesis factor Armitage (A

SUBMITTER: Munafo M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6601507 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature