TDRD5 binds piRNA precursors and selectively enhances pachytene piRNA processing in mice

• DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-02622-w
• Publication Date: 2018-01-03T17:54:56Z
• Authors: Deqiang Ding; Jiali Liu; Uros Midic; Yingjie Wu; Kunzhe Dong; Ashley Melnick; Keith E. Latham; Chen Chen
• Keywords: Piwi-interacting RNA

Abstract Pachytene piRNAs are the most abundant in mammalian adult testes. They generated from long precursor transcripts by primary piRNA biogenesis pathway but factors involved pachytene precursors processing poorly understood. Here we show that Tudor domain-containing 5 (TDRD5) protein is essential for mice. Conditional inactivation of TDRD5 mouse postnatal germ cells reveals selectively regulates production piRNA-producing precursors, with little effect on low-abundant piRNAs. Unexpectedly, not required 5′ end crucial promoting other regions transcript. Furthermore, an RNA-binding directly associating precursors. These observations establish as a factor and reveal two genetically separable steps at start processing.