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Science 2 November 2007:
Vol. 318. no. 5851, pp. 761 - 764
DOI: 10.1126/science.1146484
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Review

The Piwi-piRNA Pathway Provides an Adaptive Defense in the Transposon Arms Race

Alexei A. Aravin*, Gregory J. Hannon{dagger} and Julius Brennecke*

Watson School of Biological Sciences, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, 1 Bungtown Road, Cold Spring Harbor, NY 11724, USA.


Figure 1 Fig. 1. Features of piRNA clusters. Overview of Drosophila chromosome 2 and progressively more detailed view of a major piRNA cluster. [View Larger Version of this Image (30K GIF file)]
 

Figure 2 Fig. 2. Properties and biogenesis of piRNAs. (A) Features of Aub- and AGO3-associated piRNAs in Drosophila. Indicated are the 5' U bias in Aub-bound piRNAs, the 10A bias in AGO3-bound piRNAs, the 5' phosphate, and the 3' O-methylation. (B) Ping-Pong model of piRNA biogenesis in Drosophila. Primary piRNAs are generated by an unknown mechanism and/or are maternally deposited. Those with a target are specifically amplified via a Slicer-dependent loop involving AGO3 and Aub. [View Larger Version of this Image (53K GIF file)]
 

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)