piRNA cluster database: a web resource for piRNA producing loci

Piwi proteins and their guiding small RNAs, termed Piwi-interacting (pi-) RNAs, are essential for silencing of transposons in the germline of animals. A substantial fraction of piRNAs originates from genomic loci termed piRNA clusters and sequences encoded in these piRNA clusters determine putative targets for the Piwi/piRNA system. In the past decade, studies of piRNA transcriptomes in different species revealed additional roles for piRNAs beyond transposon silencing, reflecting the astonishing plasticity of the Piwi/piRNA system along different phylogenetic branches. Moreover, piRNA transcriptomes can change drastically during development and vary across different tissues. Since piRNA clusters crucially shape piRNA profiles, analysis of these loci is imperative for a thorough understanding of functional and evolutionary aspects of the piRNA pathway. But despite the evergrowing amount of available piRNA sequence data, we know little about the factors that determine differential reg...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2016
• Where: NAR
• Authors: David Rosenkranz
• Keywords: NAR 2016