Complex Genetic Interactions between Piwi and HP1a in the Repression of Transposable Elements and Tissue-Specific Genes in the Ovarian Germline.

ABSTRACT: Insertions of transposable elements (TEs) in eukaryotic genomes are usually associated with repressive chromatin, which spreads to neighbouring genomic sequences. In ovaries of Drosophila melanogaster, the Piwi-piRNA pathway plays a key role in the transcriptional silencing of TEs considered to be exerted mostly through the establishment of H3K9me3 histone marks recruiting Heterochromatin Protein 1a (HP1a). Here, using RNA-seq, we investigated the expression of TEs and the adjacent genomic regions upon Piwi and HP1a germline knockdowns sharing a similar genetic background. We found that the depletion of Piwi and HP1a led to the derepression of only partially overlapping TE sets. Several TEs were silenced predominantly by HP1a, whereas the upregulation of some other TEs was more pron

SUBMITTER: Ilyin AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8707237 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature