Watson School of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, United States.
Curr Opin Genet Dev. 2013 Feb;23(1):44-52. doi: 10.1016/j.gde.2012.12.003. Epub 2013 Jan 11.
Piwi proteins, together with their bound Piwi-interacting RNAs, constitute an evolutionarily conserved, germline-specific innate immune system. The piRNA pathway is one of the key mechanisms for silencing transposable elements in the germline, thereby preserving genome integrity between generations. Recent work from several groups has significantly advanced our understanding of how piRNAs arise from discrete genomic loci, termed piRNA clusters, and how these Piwi-piRNA complexes enforce transposon silencing. Here, we discuss these recent findings, as well as highlight some aspects of piRNA biology that continue to escape our understanding.
Piwi 蛋白与其结合的 Piwi 相互作用 RNA 构成了一个进化上保守的、生殖系特异性的先天免疫系统。piRNA 途径是沉默生殖系中转座元件的关键机制之一，从而在代际之间保持基因组完整性。来自几个研究小组的最近工作极大地促进了我们对 piRNA 如何从离散的基因组位点（称为 piRNA 簇）产生以及这些 Piwi-piRNA 复合物如何强制沉默转座子的理解。在这里，我们讨论这些最近的发现，并强调一些 piRNA 生物学的方面，这些方面仍然超出了我们的理解。
