Abundant expression of somatic transposon-derived piRNAs throughout Tribolium castaneum embryogenesis
Abundant expression of somatic transposon-derived piRNAs throughout Tribolium castaneum embryogenesis
Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a class of short (~26–31-nucleotide) non-protein-coding RNAs expressed in the metazoan germline. The piRNA pathway in arthropods is best understood in the ovary of Drosophila melanogaster, where it acts to silence active transposable elements (TEs).