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PMID: 18501606 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Endogenous RNA interference provides a somatic defense against Drosophila transposons.

Current biology : CB ·Vol. 18 ·No. 11 ·2008-06-03 ·Pages 795-802

Chung WJ, Okamura K, Martin R, Lai EC

Abstract

Because of the mutagenic consequences of mobile genetic elements, elaborate defenses have evolved to restrict their activity. A major system that controls the activity of transposable elements (TEs) in flies and vertebrates is mediated by Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), which are approximately 24-30 nucleotide RNAs that are bound by Piwi-class effectors. The piRNA system is thought to provide primarily a germline defense against TE activity. Here, we describe a second system that represses Drosophila TEs by using endogenous small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), which are 21 nucleotide, 3'-end-modified RNAs that are dependent on Dicer-2 and Argonaute-2. In contrast to piRNAs, we find that the TE-siRNA system is active in somatic tissues, and particularly so in various immortalized cell lines. Analysis of the patterns and properties of TE-derived small RNAs reveals further distinctions between TE regions and genomic loci that are converted into piRNAs and siRNAs, respectively. Finally, functional tests show that many transposon transcripts accumulate to higher levels in cells and animal tissues that are deficient for Dicer-2 or Argonaute-2. Drosophila utilizes two small-RNA systems to restrict transposon activity in the germline (mostly via piRNAs) and in the soma (mostly via siRNAs).

MeSH Terms
Animals Argonaute Proteins Cells, Cultured DNA Transposable Elements Drosophila/metabolism Drosophila Proteins/metabolism RNA Helicases/metabolism RNA Interference RNA, Small Interfering/biosynthesis,metabolism RNA-Induced Silencing Complex/metabolism Ribonuclease III
Chemicals
AGO2 protein, Drosophila Argonaute Proteins DNA Transposable Elements Drosophila Proteins RNA, Small Interfering RNA-Induced Silencing Complex DCR-2 protein, Drosophila Ribonuclease III RNA Helicases
Authors & Affiliations
4 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Chung Wei-Jen
Department of Developmental Biology, Sloan-Kettering Institute, 521 Rockefeller Research Laboratories, 1275 York Ave, Box 252, New York, New York 10065, USA.
Okamura Katsutomo
Martin Raquel
Lai Eric C
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Article Info
Journal
Current biology : CB
Abbr.
Curr Biol
ISSN
0960-9822
DOI
10.1016/j.cub.2008.05.006
Published
2008-06-03
Epub
2008-00-22
Pages
795-802
Language
English
Region
England
NLM ID
9107782
PMCID
PMC2812477
Subset
IM
Grants
NHGRI NIH HHS · U01-HG004261 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM083300-01 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM083300-02 · United States
NHGRI NIH HHS · U01 HG004261-01 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01-GM083300 · United States
NHGRI NIH HHS · U01 HG004261-02 · United States
NHGRI NIH HHS · U01 HG004261 · United States
NIGMS NIH HHS · R01 GM083300 · United States
Corrections
CommentIn
PMID: 18606126
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.05.006 PMC Full Text View journal details
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