ArticlePLoS genetics2023
Non-gonadal somatic piRNA pathways ensure sexual differentiation, larval growth, and wing development in silkworms.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- The complete sequence of the silkworm W chromosome uncovers its rapid evolution by large-scale duplications/deletions and translocation of W-linked genes.G3 (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Article
- Unraveling the role of PIWI/piRNAs in stem cell therapy: Epigenetic mechanisms and therapeutic potentials.Genes & diseases · 2026Review
- piRNA: Molecular Mechanisms from Germline Silencing to Somatic Regulation and Roles in Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- CRISPR-Mediated Silkworm: The Oncoming Agricultural Revolutions and a Rising Model Organism.Genes · 2026Review
- Article
- Histopathological and Transcriptional Changes in Silkworm Larval Gonads in Response to Chlorfenapyr Exposure.Insects · 2025Article
- Egg Microinjection for the SilkwormBio-protocol · 2025Article
- Analysis of the Expression Patterns of piRNAs in Response to Microsporidian Invasion in Midgut of Workers (International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Non-gonadal expression of piRNAs is widespread across Arthropoda.FEBS letters · 2025Review
- A model that integrates the different piRNA biogenesis pathways based on studies in silkwormCurrent research in insect science · 2025Review
- Influence of aging and maternal protein restriction on PIWI-interacting RNA expression in the offspring rat ventral prostate.Scientific reports · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) guide PIWI proteins to target transposons in germline cells, thereby suppressing transposon activity to preserve genome integrity in metazoans' gonadal tissues. Piwi, one of three Drosophila PIWI proteins, is expressed in the nucleus and suppresses transposon activity by forming heterochromatin in an RNA cleavage-independent manner. Recently, Piwi was reported to control cell metabolism in Drosophila fat body, providing an example of piRNAs acting in non-gonadal somatic tissues. However, mutant flies of the other two PIWI proteins, Aubergine (Aub) and Argonaute3 (Ago3), show no apparent phenotype except for infertility, blurring the importance of the piRNA pathway in non-gonadal somatic tissues. The silkworm, Bombyx mori, possesses two PIWI proteins, Siwi (Aub homolog) and BmAgo3 (Ago3 homolog), whereas B. mori does not have a Piwi homolog. Siwi and BmAgo3 are mainly expressed in gonadal tissues and play a role in repressing transposon activity by cleaving transposon RNA in the cytoplasm. Here, we generated Siwi and BmAgo3 loss-of-function mutants of B. mori and found that they both showed delayed larval growth and failed to become adult moths. They also exhibited defects in wing development and sexual differentiation. Transcriptome analysis revealed that loss of somatic piRNA biogenesis pathways results in abnormal expression of not only transposons but also host genes, presumably causing severe growth defects. Our results highlight the roles of non-gonadal somatic piRNAs in B. mori development.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.