CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PIRNA PATHWAYS IN THE DROSOPHILA MALE GERMLINE

Abstract

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) represent a unique class of small RNAs enriched in animal gonads. They are involved in various biological processes such as germline development, control of gene expression, transposon silencing and chromosome segregation. piRNA pathways were characterized in great details in the Drosophila female germline but remain poorly understood in the male germline. To understand the specific features of the male piRNAs in Drosophila, I characterized the piRNAs from different stages of spermatogenesis using developmental arrest mutants. I found distinct piRNA populations present at different stages of spermatogenesis, targeting distinct transcripts. In addition, I show that the strategies used for piRNA biogenesis are also developmentally regulated. This work illustrates the high versatility of the piRNA pathway and provides a novel developmental dimension to the piRNA- based mechanisms.