title: Profiling sex-specific piRNAs in zebrafish.
abstract: Piwi proteins and their partner small RNAs play an essential role in fertility, germ-line stem cell development, and the basic control and evolution of animal genomes. However, little knowledge exists regarding piRNA biogenesis. Utilizing microfluidic chip analysis, we present a quantitative profile of zebrafish piRNAs expressed differentially between testis and ovary. The sex-specific piRNAs are derived from separate loci of repeat elements in the genome. Ovarian piRNAs can be categorized into groups that reach up to 92 members, indicating a sex-specific arrangement of piRNA genes in the genome. Furthermore, precursor piRNAs preferentially form a hairpin structure at the 3'end, which seem to favor the generation of mature sex-specific piRNAs. In addition, the mature piRNAs from both the testis and the ovary are 2'-O-methylated at their 3' ends.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Center for Developmental Biology, College of Life Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Zhixiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: Fang
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Yuriko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sakaguchi
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
authors.forename: Hanhua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Rongjia
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D016678:Genome / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008745:Methylation; D010053:Ovary / Q000737:chemistry*; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000032:analysis*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013737:Testis / Q000737:chemistry*; D015027:Zebrafish
chemical_list: D034741:RNA, Small Interfering