"Dot COM", a Nuclear Transit Center for the Primary PiRNA Pathway in Drosophila

Overview

Journal PLoS One

Specialties General Medicine
Science

Date 2013 Sep 17

PMID 24039799

Citations 22

Authors

Cynthia Dennis

Vanessa Zanni

Emilie Brasset

Angeline Eymery

Liang Zhang

Rana Mteirek

Silke Jensen

Yikang S Rong

Chantal Vaury

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The piRNA pathway protects genomes by silencing mobile elements. Despite advances in understanding the processing events that generate piRNAs for silencing, little is known about how primary transcripts are transported from their genomic clusters to their processing centers. Using a model of the Drosophila COM/flamenco locus in ovarian somatic cells, we identified a prominent nuclear structure called Dot COM, which is enriched in long transcripts from piRNA clusters but located far from their transcription sites. Remarkably, transcripts from multiple clusters accumulate at Dot COM, which is often juxtaposed with Yb-bodies, the cytoplasmic processing centers for cluster transcripts. Genetic evidence suggests that the accumulation of precursor transcripts at Dot COM represents one of the most upstream events in the piRNA pathway. Our results provide new insights into the initial steps of the piRNA pathway, and open up a new research area important for a complete understanding of this conserved pathway.

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