Reference - Detail
| RRC ID | 30565 |
|---|---|
| Author | 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. |
| Title | A single female-specific piRNA is the primary determiner of sex in the silkworm. |
| Journal | 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. |
| Volume | 509(7502) |
| Pages | 633-6 |
| Published | 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 |
| Times Cited | 195 |
| WOS Category | BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY |
| Altmetric score |
オルトメトリクス指標項目
|
| The most frequently cited source | X(Twitter) |
| Total number of mentions | 54 |
| Altmetric score changes over past 6months | 0.0 |
| Resource | |
| Silkworms | |