Piwi induces piRNA-guided transcriptional silencing and establishment of a repressive chromatin state.
Genes Dev
; 27(4): 390-9, 2013 Feb 15.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23392610
ABSTRACT
In the metazoan germline, piwi proteins and associated piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) provide a defense system against the expression of transposable elements. In the cytoplasm, piRNA sequences guide piwi complexes to destroy complementary transposon transcripts by endonucleolytic cleavage. However, some piwi family members are nuclear, raising the possibility of alternative pathways for piRNA-mediated regulation of gene expression. We found that Drosophila Piwi is recruited to chromatin, colocalizing with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) on polytene chromosomes. Knockdown of Piwi in the germline increases expression of transposable elements that are targeted by piRNAs, whereas protein-coding genes remain largely unaffected. Derepression of transposons upon Piwi depletion correlates with increased occupancy of Pol II on their promoters. Expression of piRNAs that target a reporter construct results in a decrease in Pol II occupancy and an increase in repressive H3K9me3 marks and heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) on the reporter locus. Our results indicate that Piwi identifies targets complementary to the associated piRNA and induces transcriptional repression by establishing a repressive chromatin state when correct targets are found.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Cromatina
/
Inativação Gênica
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Proteínas de Drosophila
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RNA Interferente Pequeno
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Drosophila melanogaster
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Proteínas Argonautas
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Genes Dev
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA MOLECULAR
Ano de publicação:
2013
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos