Genetic polymorphisms lead to major, locus-specific, variation in piRNA production in mouse

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Adrià Mitjavila on June 15, 2022

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that silence transposons in the animal germline. PiRNAs are produced from long single-stranded noncoding transcripts, from protein-coding transcripts, as well as from transposons. While some sites that produce piRNAs are in deeply conserved syntenic regions, in general, piRNAs and piRNA-producing loci turnover faster than other functional parts of the genome. To learn about the sequence changes that contribute to the fast evolution of piRNAs, we set out to analyze piRNA expression between genetically different mice. Here we report the sequencing and analysis of small RNAs from the mouse male germline of four classical inbred strains, one inbred wild-derived strain and one outbred strain. We find that genetic differences between individuals underlie variation in piRNA expression. We report significant differences in piRNA production at loci with endogenous retrovirus insertions. Strain-specific piRNA-producing loci include protein-coding genes. Our findings provide evidence that transposable elements contribute to inter-individual differences in expression, and potentially to the fast evolution of piRNA-producing loci in mammals.

Xrn1 influence on gene transcription

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Adrià Mitjavila on December 7, 2020

Figure 1:

Figure 1 of the article showing the model of how Xrn1 and other RNA decay factors work. Source: Begley V et al (2020). Xrn1 influence on gene transcription results from the combination of general effects on elongating RNA pol II and gene-specific chromatin configuration. RNA Biology. doi: 10.1080/15476286.2020.1845504.

Journal Article on Adrià Mitjavila Ventura

Genetic polymorphisms lead to major, locus-specific, variation in piRNA production in mouse

Xrn1 influence on gene transcription