Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-23-2021
Abstract
In animal germlines, PIWI proteins and the associated PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) protect genome integrity by silencing transposons. Here we report the extensive sequence and quantitative correlations between 2′,3′-cyclic phosphate-containing RNAs (cP-RNAs), identified using cP-RNA-seq, and piRNAs in the Bombyx germ cell line and mouse testes. The cP-RNAs containing 5′-phosphate (P-cP-RNAs) identified by P-cP-RNA-seq harbor highly consistent 5′-end positions as the piRNAs and are loaded onto PIWI protein, suggesting their direct utilization as piRNA precursors. We identified Bombyx RNase Kappa (BmRNase κ) as a mitochondria-associated endoribonuclease which produces cP-RNAs during piRNA biogenesis. BmRNase κ-depletion elevated transposon levels and disrupted a piRNA-mediated sex determination in Bombyx embryos, indicating the crucial roles of BmRNase κ in piRNA biogenesis and embryonic development. Our results reveal a BmRNase κ-engaged piRNA biogenesis pathway, in which the generation of cP-RNAs promotes robust piRNA production.
Recommended Citation
Shigematsu, Megumi; Kawamura, Takuya; Morichika, Keisuke; Izumi, Natsuko; Kiuchi, Takashi; Honda, Shozo; Pliatsika, Venetia; Matsubara, Ryuma; Rigoutsos, Isidore; Katsuma, Susumu; Tomari, Yukihide; and Kirino, Yohei, "RNase κ promotes robust piRNA production by generating 2',3'-cyclic phosphate-containing precursors" (2021). Computational Medicine Center Faculty Papers. Paper 37.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/tjucompmedctrfp/37
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
PubMed ID
34301931
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author’s final published version in Nature Communications, Volume 12, Issue 1, July 2021, Article number 4498.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24681-w. Copyright © Shigematsu et al.