Limited impact of the siRNA pathway on transposable element expression in Aedes aegypti
Abstract Background Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences that can change their position within a genome. In insects, small RNA pathways are central to the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of TE expression. The Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway is particularly important...
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2025-05-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02225-8 |
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| author | Alexander Bergman Anna B. Crist Hélène Lopez-Maestre Hervé Blanc Mauro Castelló-Sanjuán Lionel Frangeul Hugo Varet Josquin Daron Sarah H. Merkling Maria-Carla Saleh Louis Lambrechts |
| author_facet | Alexander Bergman Anna B. Crist Hélène Lopez-Maestre Hervé Blanc Mauro Castelló-Sanjuán Lionel Frangeul Hugo Varet Josquin Daron Sarah H. Merkling Maria-Carla Saleh Louis Lambrechts |
| author_sort | Alexander Bergman |
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| description | Abstract Background Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences that can change their position within a genome. In insects, small RNA pathways are central to the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of TE expression. The Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway is particularly important in germline tissues, where it silences TE transcripts via small RNAs of 24–30 nucleotides (nt) in length produced from genomic precursor transcripts as well as through a “ping-pong” amplification cycle. The small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway helps restrict TE expression in somatic tissues via 21nt small RNAs produced from double-stranded RNA by the endonuclease Dicer2, which guide an RNA-induced silencing complex to degrade complementary RNAs. However, much of this knowledge comes from studies of the model insect Drosophila melanogaster. In the mosquito Aedes aegypti, a medically significant vector species, the siRNA pathway has mainly been investigated in connection with its antiviral role, leaving open whether it also regulates TE expression. Results We investigated the expression of TEs and small RNAs in both somatic and gonadal tissues of a Dicer2 mutant line of Ae. aegypti and its wild-type counterpart. Our results show a modified pattern of TE expression and a decrease in TE-derived 21nt RNAs in the Dicer2 mutant, but no major shift of TE transcript abundance. The lack of a functional siRNA pathway also causes perturbations in piRNA ping-pong signatures and the expression of certain piRNA-associated genes, but without clear evidence for compensation by increased piRNA pathway activity. Conclusions The mosquito Ae. aegypti produces siRNAs derived from TEs but these lack a critical role in the regulation of TE expression both in somatic and in gonadal tissues. |
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| institution | Kabale University |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
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| series | BMC Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-39e91b18e48a45a1bd57182493c4a0a12025-08-20T03:43:34ZengBMCBMC Biology1741-70072025-05-0123111810.1186/s12915-025-02225-8Limited impact of the siRNA pathway on transposable element expression in Aedes aegyptiAlexander Bergman0Anna B. Crist1Hélène Lopez-Maestre2Hervé Blanc3Mauro Castelló-Sanjuán4Lionel Frangeul5Hugo Varet6Josquin Daron7Sarah H. Merkling8Maria-Carla Saleh9Louis Lambrechts10Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR2000, Insect-Virus Interactions UnitInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR2000, Insect-Virus Interactions UnitInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR2000, Insect-Virus Interactions UnitInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Viruses and RNA Interference UnitInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Viruses and RNA Interference UnitInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Viruses and RNA Interference UnitInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Bioinformatics and Biostatistics HubInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR2000, Insect-Virus Interactions UnitInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR2000, Insect-Virus Interactions UnitInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Viruses and RNA Interference UnitInstitut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, CNRS UMR2000, Insect-Virus Interactions UnitAbstract Background Transposable elements (TEs) are DNA sequences that can change their position within a genome. In insects, small RNA pathways are central to the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of TE expression. The Piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway is particularly important in germline tissues, where it silences TE transcripts via small RNAs of 24–30 nucleotides (nt) in length produced from genomic precursor transcripts as well as through a “ping-pong” amplification cycle. The small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway helps restrict TE expression in somatic tissues via 21nt small RNAs produced from double-stranded RNA by the endonuclease Dicer2, which guide an RNA-induced silencing complex to degrade complementary RNAs. However, much of this knowledge comes from studies of the model insect Drosophila melanogaster. In the mosquito Aedes aegypti, a medically significant vector species, the siRNA pathway has mainly been investigated in connection with its antiviral role, leaving open whether it also regulates TE expression. Results We investigated the expression of TEs and small RNAs in both somatic and gonadal tissues of a Dicer2 mutant line of Ae. aegypti and its wild-type counterpart. Our results show a modified pattern of TE expression and a decrease in TE-derived 21nt RNAs in the Dicer2 mutant, but no major shift of TE transcript abundance. The lack of a functional siRNA pathway also causes perturbations in piRNA ping-pong signatures and the expression of certain piRNA-associated genes, but without clear evidence for compensation by increased piRNA pathway activity. Conclusions The mosquito Ae. aegypti produces siRNAs derived from TEs but these lack a critical role in the regulation of TE expression both in somatic and in gonadal tissues.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02225-8MosquitoAedes aegyptiDicer2Transposable elementsiRNA pathwaypiRNA pathway |
| spellingShingle | Alexander Bergman Anna B. Crist Hélène Lopez-Maestre Hervé Blanc Mauro Castelló-Sanjuán Lionel Frangeul Hugo Varet Josquin Daron Sarah H. Merkling Maria-Carla Saleh Louis Lambrechts Limited impact of the siRNA pathway on transposable element expression in Aedes aegypti BMC Biology Mosquito Aedes aegypti Dicer2 Transposable element siRNA pathway piRNA pathway |
| title | Limited impact of the siRNA pathway on transposable element expression in Aedes aegypti |
| title_full | Limited impact of the siRNA pathway on transposable element expression in Aedes aegypti |
| title_fullStr | Limited impact of the siRNA pathway on transposable element expression in Aedes aegypti |
| title_full_unstemmed | Limited impact of the siRNA pathway on transposable element expression in Aedes aegypti |
| title_short | Limited impact of the siRNA pathway on transposable element expression in Aedes aegypti |
| title_sort | limited impact of the sirna pathway on transposable element expression in aedes aegypti |
| topic | Mosquito Aedes aegypti Dicer2 Transposable element siRNA pathway piRNA pathway |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12915-025-02225-8 |
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