en
Scientific article
Open access
English

Evolutionarily conserved pachytene piRNA loci are highly divergent among modern humans

Published inNature ecology & evolution, vol. 4, no. 1, p. 156-168
Publication date2020-01
First online date2019-12-23
Abstract

In the fetal mouse testis, PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) guide PIWI proteins to silence transposons but, after birth, most post-pubertal pachytene piRNAs map to the genome uniquely and are thought to regulate genes required for male fertility. In the human male, the developmental classes, precise genomic origins and transcriptional regulation of postnatal piRNAs remain undefined. Here, we demarcate the genes and transcripts that produce postnatal piRNAs in human juvenile and adult testes. As in the mouse, human A-MYB drives transcription of both pachytene piRNA precursor transcripts and messenger RNAs encoding piRNA biogenesis factors. Although human piRNA genes are syntenic to those in other placental mammals, their sequences are poorly conserved. In fact, pachytene piRNA loci are rapidly diverging even among modern humans. Our findings suggest that, during mammalian evolution, pachytene piRNA genes are under few selective constraints. We speculate that pachytene piRNA diversity may provide a hitherto unrecognized driver of reproductive isolation.

eng
Keywords
  • Adolescent
  • Animals
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Genome
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Pregnancy
  • RNA, Messenger
  • RNA, Small Interfering
  • Testis
Affiliation Not a UNIGE publication
Funding
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute -
  • NICHD NIH HHS - [P01 HD078253]
  • NIGMS NIH HHS - [R37 GM062862]
  • NCATS NIH HHS - [UL1 TR001453]
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences - [R37GM062862]
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development - [P01HD078253]
Citation (ISO format)
ÖZATA, Deniz M et al. Evolutionarily conserved pachytene piRNA loci are highly divergent among modern humans. In: Nature ecology & evolution, 2020, vol. 4, n° 1, p. 156–168. doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-1065-1
Main files (2)
Article (Accepted version)
accessLevelPublic
Article (Published version)
accessLevelRestricted
Secondary files (2)
Identifiers
ISSN of the journal2397-334X
156views
40downloads

Technical informations

Creation2022/03/30 09:14:00
First validation2022/03/30 09:14:00
Update time2023/03/16 06:27:45
Status update2023/03/16 06:27:43
Last indexation2024/02/01 08:09:32
All rights reserved by Archive ouverte UNIGE and the University of GenevaunigeBlack