Discovery and Characterization of piRNAs in the Human Fetal Ovary

Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2015 papers

Abstract

Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), a class of 26- to 32-nt non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), function in germline development, transposon silencing, and epigenetic regulation. We performed deep sequencing and annotation of untreated and periodate-treated small RNA cDNA libraries from human fetal and adult germline and reference somatic tissues. This revealed abundant piRNAs originating from 150 piRNA-encoding genes, including some exhibiting gender-specific expression, in fetal ovary and adult testis-developmental periods coinciding with mitotic cell divisions expanding fetal germ cells prior to meiotic divisions. The absence of reads mapping uniquely to annotated piRNA genes demonstrated their paucity in fetal testis and adult ovary and absence in somatic tissues. We curated human piRNA-expressing regions and defined their precise borders and observed piRNA-guided cleavage of transcripts antisense to some piRNA-producing genes. This study provides insights into sex-specific mammalian piRNA expression and function and serves as a reference for human piRNA analysis and annotation.

Related Papers

• → Developmentally Regulated piRNA Clusters Implicate MILI in Transposon Control(2007)1,034 cited
• → piRNA-guided transposon cleavage initiates Zucchini-dependent, phased piRNA production(2015)410 cited
• → Transposable Element Targeting by piRNAs in Laurasiatherians with Distinct Transposable Element Histories(2016)48 cited
• → Distinct and Collaborative Functions of Yb and Armitage in Transposon-Targeting piRNA Biogenesis(2019)54 cited
• → Faculty Opinions recommendation of Discrete small RNA-generating loci as master regulators of transposon activity in Drosophila.(2007)