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Published online
doi:10.1083/jcb.200904063
The Journal of Cell Biology, Vol. 186, No. 3, 333-342
The Rockefeller University Press, 0021-9525 $30.00
© Lim et al.
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piRNAs mediate posttranscriptional retroelement silencing and localization to pi-bodies in the Drosophila germline



Ai Khim Lim1,2, Liheng Tao1, and Toshie Kai1,2

1 Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory and 2 Department of Biological Sciences, The National University of Singapore, 117604 Singapore

Correspondence to Toshie Kai: toshie{at}tll.org.sg

Nuage, a well-conserved perinuclear organelle found in germline cells, is thought to mediate retroelement repression in Drosophila melanogaster by regulating the production of Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). In this study, we present evidence that the nuage–piRNA pathway components can be found in cytoplasmic foci that also contain retroelement transcripts, antisense piRNAs, and proteins involved in messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation. These mRNA degradation proteins, decapping protein 1/2 (DCP1/2), Me31B (maternal expression at 31B), and pacman (PCM), are normally thought of as components of processing bodies. In spindle-E (spn-E) and aubergine (aub) mutants that lack piRNA production, piRNA pathway proteins no longer overlap the mRNA degradation proteins. Concomitantly, spn-E and aub mutant ovaries show an accumulation of full-length retroelement transcripts and prolonged stabilization of HeT-A mRNA, supporting the role of piRNAs in mediating posttranscriptional retroelement silencing. HeT-A mRNA is derepressed in mRNA degradation mutants twin, dcp1, and ski3, indicating that these enzymes also aid in removing full-length transcripts and/or decay intermediates.

© 2009 Lim et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of an Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike–No Mirror Sites license for the first six months after the publication date (see http://www.jcb.org/misc/terms.shtml). After six months it is available under a Creative Commons License (Attribution–Noncommercial–Share Alike 3.0 Unported license, as described at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/).

Abbreviations used in this paper: CDS, coding sequence; DIG, digoxygenin; LM, ligation mediated; MCP, MS2 coat protein; PAT, poly(A) tail test; piRNA, Piwi-interacting RNA; RACE, rapid amplification of cDNA ends; RISC, RNA-induced silencing complex; rRNA, ribosomal RNA; UTR, untranslated region.


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