title: Variable expression levels detected in the Drosophila effectors of piRNA biogenesis.
abstract: piRNAs (piwi-interacting RNAs) are a class of small interfering RNAs that play a major role in the regulation of transposable elements (TEs) in Drosophila and are considered of fundamental importance in gonadal development. Genes encoding the effectors of the piRNA machinery are thus often thought to be highly constrained. On the contrary, as actors of genetic immunity, these genes have also been shown to evolve rapidly and display a high level of sequence variability. In order to assess the support for these competing models, we analyzed seven genes of the piRNA pathway using a collection of wild-type strains of Drosophila simulans, which are known to display significant variability in their TE content between strains. We showed that these genes exhibited wide variation in transcript levels, and we discuss some evolutionary considerations regarding the observed variability in TE copy numbers.
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, F-69000 Lyon, France; CNRS, UMR5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France. Electronic address: marie.fablet@univ-lyon1.fr.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fablet
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, F-69000 Lyon, France; CNRS, UMR5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Abdou
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Akkouche
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, F-69000 Lyon, France; CNRS, UMR5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France.
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Braman
authors.affiliation: Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, F-69000 Lyon, France; CNRS, UMR5558, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France; Institut Universitaire de France. Electronic address: cristina.vieira@univ-lyon1.fr.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vieira
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D029721:Drosophila Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D018628:Gene Dosage; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D014644:Genetic Variation; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering
keywords: Drosophila simulans; GIPP; Piwi interacting small RNA; Retrotransposon; TE; Transposable element; Transposable elements; Wild-type strains; ago3; argonaute 3; armi; armitage; aub; aubergine; genes involved in the piRNA pathway; piRNA; piwi-interacting RNAs; spindle E; spnE; squ; squash; zuc; zucchini