mRNA Regulation and Development, Institute of Human Genetics, CNRS UPR1142, Montpellier, France.
RNA Biol. 2011 Sep-Oct;8(5):754-9. doi: 10.4161/rna.8.5.16042. Epub 2011 Jul 19.
The primary function of the piRNA pathway is to repress the expression and transposition of transposable elements. However, the piRNA pathway has additional biological and developmental functions. These functions are either a consequence of transposon regulation, or they result from direct roles of transposable elements in chromosome structure and gene regulation through piRNAs. Recent data have extended the functions of transposable elements in gene regulation, revealing a trans-acting role of transposable element piRNAs in the control of gene expression. Over the last few years, extensive studies on the piRNA pathway have rapidly increased our understanding of the relationships between transposable elements and the host genome, and of the essential role of transposable elements in biological and developmental processes.
piRNA 通路的主要功能是抑制转座元件的表达和转座。然而,piRNA 通路还有其他的生物学和发育功能。这些功能要么是转座子调控的结果,要么是转座元件通过 piRNA 直接参与染色体结构和基因调控的结果。最近的数据扩展了转座元件在基因调控中的功能,揭示了转座元件 piRNA 在控制基因表达中的反式作用。在过去的几年中,对 piRNA 通路的广泛研究极大地增进了我们对转座元件与宿主基因组之间关系的理解,以及转座元件在生物学和发育过程中的重要作用。