| RRC ID |
30565
|
| 著者 |
Kiuchi T, Koga H, Kawamoto M, Shoji K, Sakai H, Arai Y, Ishihara G, Kawaoka S, Sugano S, Shimada T, Suzuki Y, Suzuki MG, Katsuma S.
|
| タイトル |
A single female-specific piRNA is the primary determiner of sex in the silkworm.
|
| ジャーナル |
Nature
|
| Abstract |
The silkworm Bombyx mori uses a WZ sex determination system that is analogous to the one found in birds and some reptiles. In this system, males have two Z sex chromosomes, whereas females have Z and W sex chromosomes. The silkworm W chromosome has a dominant role in female determination, suggesting the existence of a dominant feminizing gene in this chromosome. However, the W chromosome is almost fully occupied by transposable element sequences, and no functional protein-coding gene has been identified so far. Female-enriched PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are the only known transcripts that are produced from the sex-determining region of the W chromosome, but the function(s) of these piRNAs are unknown. Here we show that a W-chromosome-derived, female-specific piRNA is the feminizing factor of B. mori. This piRNA is produced from a piRNA precursor which we named Fem. Fem sequences were arranged in tandem in the sex-determining region of the W chromosome. Inhibition of Fem-derived piRNA-mediated signalling in female embryos led to the production of the male-specific splice variants of B. mori doublesex (Bmdsx), a gene which acts at the downstream end of the sex differentiation cascade. A target gene of Fem-derived piRNA was identified on the Z chromosome of B. mori. This gene, which we named Masc, encoded a CCCH-type zinc finger protein. We show that the silencing of Masc messenger RNA by Fem piRNA is required for the production of female-specific isoforms of Bmdsx in female embryos, and that Masc protein controls both dosage compensation and masculinization in male embryos. Our study characterizes a single small RNA that is responsible for primary sex determination in the WZ sex determination system.
|
| 巻・号 |
509(7502)
|
| ページ |
633-6
|
| 公開日 |
2014-5-29
|
| DOI |
10.1038/nature13315
|
| PII |
nature13315
|
| PMID |
24828047
|
| MeSH |
Alternative Splicing / genetics
Animals
Base Sequence
Bombyx / embryology
Bombyx / genetics*
Dosage Compensation, Genetic
Female
Male
Molecular Sequence Data
RNA, Small Interfering / genetics*
Sex Characteristics*
Sex Chromosomes / genetics
Sex Determination Processes / genetics*
|
| IF |
42.779
|
| 引用数 |
195
|
|
WOS 分野
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BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
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| リソース情報 |
| カイコ |
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