Heterochromatin-dependent transcription of satellite DNAs in the Drosophila melanogaster female germline
Large blocks of tandemly repeated DNAs—satellite DNAs (satDNAs)—play important roles in heterochromatin formation and chromosome segregation. We know little about how satDNAs are regulated; however, their misregulation is associated with genomic instability and human diseases. We use the Drosophila...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2021-07-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/62375 |
| _version_ | 1828107565382238208 |
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| author | Xiaolu Wei Danna G Eickbush Iain Speece Amanda M Larracuente |
| author_facet | Xiaolu Wei Danna G Eickbush Iain Speece Amanda M Larracuente |
| author_sort | Xiaolu Wei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Large blocks of tandemly repeated DNAs—satellite DNAs (satDNAs)—play important roles in heterochromatin formation and chromosome segregation. We know little about how satDNAs are regulated; however, their misregulation is associated with genomic instability and human diseases. We use the Drosophila melanogaster germline as a model to study the regulation of satDNA transcription and chromatin. Here we show that complex satDNAs (>100-bp repeat units) are transcribed into long noncoding RNAs and processed into piRNAs (PIWI interacting RNAs). This satDNA piRNA production depends on the Rhino-Deadlock-Cutoff complex and the transcription factor Moonshiner—a previously described non-canonical pathway that licenses heterochromatin-dependent transcription of dual-strand piRNA clusters. We show that this pathway is important for establishing heterochromatin at satDNAs. Therefore, satDNAs are regulated by piRNAs originating from their own genomic loci. This novel mechanism of satDNA regulation provides insight into the role of piRNA pathways in heterochromatin formation and genome stability. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:33:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-07dfd75da1cf4e0d907804ab24e77730 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:33:09Z |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-07dfd75da1cf4e0d907804ab24e777302022-12-22T04:29:21ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2021-07-011010.7554/eLife.62375Heterochromatin-dependent transcription of satellite DNAs in the Drosophila melanogaster female germlineXiaolu Wei0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9952-3757Danna G Eickbush1Iain Speece2Amanda M Larracuente3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5944-5686Department of Biomedical Genetics, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, United StatesDepartment of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, United StatesDepartment of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, United StatesDepartment of Biology, University of Rochester, Rochester, United StatesLarge blocks of tandemly repeated DNAs—satellite DNAs (satDNAs)—play important roles in heterochromatin formation and chromosome segregation. We know little about how satDNAs are regulated; however, their misregulation is associated with genomic instability and human diseases. We use the Drosophila melanogaster germline as a model to study the regulation of satDNA transcription and chromatin. Here we show that complex satDNAs (>100-bp repeat units) are transcribed into long noncoding RNAs and processed into piRNAs (PIWI interacting RNAs). This satDNA piRNA production depends on the Rhino-Deadlock-Cutoff complex and the transcription factor Moonshiner—a previously described non-canonical pathway that licenses heterochromatin-dependent transcription of dual-strand piRNA clusters. We show that this pathway is important for establishing heterochromatin at satDNAs. Therefore, satDNAs are regulated by piRNAs originating from their own genomic loci. This novel mechanism of satDNA regulation provides insight into the role of piRNA pathways in heterochromatin formation and genome stability.https://elifesciences.org/articles/62375satellite DNApiRNAsheterochromatinovarytestis |
| spellingShingle | Xiaolu Wei Danna G Eickbush Iain Speece Amanda M Larracuente Heterochromatin-dependent transcription of satellite DNAs in the Drosophila melanogaster female germline eLife satellite DNA piRNAs heterochromatin ovary testis |
| title | Heterochromatin-dependent transcription of satellite DNAs in the Drosophila melanogaster female germline |
| title_full | Heterochromatin-dependent transcription of satellite DNAs in the Drosophila melanogaster female germline |
| title_fullStr | Heterochromatin-dependent transcription of satellite DNAs in the Drosophila melanogaster female germline |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heterochromatin-dependent transcription of satellite DNAs in the Drosophila melanogaster female germline |
| title_short | Heterochromatin-dependent transcription of satellite DNAs in the Drosophila melanogaster female germline |
| title_sort | heterochromatin dependent transcription of satellite dnas in the drosophila melanogaster female germline |
| topic | satellite DNA piRNAs heterochromatin ovary testis |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/62375 |
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