RNA Therapeutics Institute Publications
Title
Pan-arthropod analysis reveals somatic piRNAs as an ancestral defence against transposable elements
UMMS Affiliation
RNA Therapeutics Institute
Publication Date
2018-01-01
Document Type
Article
Disciplines
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology | Cell and Developmental Biology | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Genetics and Genomics | Therapeutics
Abstract
In animals, small RNA molecules termed PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) silence transposable elements (TEs), protecting the germline from genomic instability and mutation. piRNAs have been detected in the soma in a few animals, but these are believed to be specific adaptations of individual species. Here, we report that somatic piRNAs were probably present in the ancestral arthropod more than 500 million years ago. Analysis of 20 species across the arthropod phylum suggests that somatic piRNAs targeting TEs and messenger RNAs are common among arthropods. The presence of an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase in chelicerates (horseshoe crabs, spiders and scorpions) suggests that arthropods originally used a plant-like RNA interference mechanism to silence TEs. Our results call into question the view that the ancestral role of the piRNA pathway was to protect the germline and demonstrate that small RNA silencing pathways have been repurposed for both somatic and germline functions throughout arthropod evolution.
DOI of Published Version
10.1038/s41559-017-0403-4
Source
Nat Ecol Evol. 2018 Jan;2(1):174-181. doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0403-4. Epub 2017 Dec 4. Link to article on publisher's site
Journal/Book/Conference Title
Nature ecology and evolution
Related Resources
PubMed ID
29203920
Repository Citation
Lewis, Samuel H.; Yang, Yujing; Zamore, Phillip D.; and Jiggins, Francis M., "Pan-arthropod analysis reveals somatic piRNAs as an ancestral defence against transposable elements" (2018). RNA Therapeutics Institute Publications. 38.
https://escholarship.umassmed.edu/rti_pubs/38