Zhiqing Li, Zhenzhen Li, Yuqi Zhang, Lunni Zhou, Qikui Xu, Lili Li, Lin Zeng, Junchao Xue, Huilin Niu, Jing Zhong, Qilu Yu, Dengfeng Li, Miao Gui, Yongping Huang, Shikui Tu, Zhao Zhang, Chun-Qing Song, Jianping Wu, En-Zhi Shen
The PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway is an adaptive defense system wherein piRNAs guide PIWI family Argonaute proteins to recognize and silence ever-evolving selfish genetic elements and ensure genome integrity. Driven by this intensive host-pathogen arms race, the piRNA pathway and its targeted transposons have coevolved rapidly in a species-specific manner, but how the piRNA pathway adapts specifically to target silencing in mammals remains elusive. Here, we show that mouse MILI and human HILI piRNA-induced silencing complexes (piRISCs) bind and cleave targets more efficiently than their invertebrate counterparts from the sponge Ephydatia fluviatilis...
April 24, 2024: Nature Structural & Molecular Biology