Pimet, the <i>Drosophila</i> homolog of HEN1, mediates 2′-<i>O</i>-methylation of Piwi- interacting RNAs at their 3′ ends
Genes & DevelopmentPublished 1 July 2007Open access
Kuniaki Saito, Yuriko Sakaguchi, Takeo Suzuki, Tsutomu Suzuki, Haruhiko Siomi, Mikiko C. Siomi
Citations472
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score4.00
SNIP1.43
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TL;DR
It is shown that piRNAs in Drosophila are 2'-O-methylated at their 3' ends, and Pimet mediates piRNA 2'- O-methylation in Dosophila.
Abstract
Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) consist of a germline-specific group of small RNAs derived from distinct intergenic loci in the genome. piRNAs function in silencing selfish transposable elements through binding with the PIWI subfamily proteins of Argonautes. Here we show that piRNAs in Drosophila are 2'-O-methylated at their 3' ends. Loss of Pimet (piRNA methyltransferase), the Drosophila homolog of Arabidopsis HEN1 methyltransferase for microRNAs (miRNAs), results in loss of 2'-O-methylation of fly piRNAs. Recombinant Pimet shows single-stranded small RNA methylation activity in vitro and interacts with the PIWI proteins within Pimet mutant ovary. These results show that Pimet mediates piRNA 2'-O-methylation in Drosophila.
Keywords
Agricultural and Biological SciencesBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
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