Analysis of somatic piRNAs in the malaria mosquito Anopheles coluzzii reveals atypical classes of genic small RNAs
Piwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNA) play a key role in controlling the activity of transposable elements (TEs) in the animal germline. In diverse arthropod species, including the pathogen vectors mosquitoes, the piRNA pathway is also active in nongonadal somatic tissues, where its targets and functi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Taylor & Francis Group
2025-02-01
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| Series: | RNA Biology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15476286.2025.2463812 |
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| author | Sergei Funikov Alexander Rezvykh Natalia Akulenko Jiangtao Liang Igor V. Sharakhov Alla Kalmykova |
| author_facet | Sergei Funikov Alexander Rezvykh Natalia Akulenko Jiangtao Liang Igor V. Sharakhov Alla Kalmykova |
| author_sort | Sergei Funikov |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Piwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNA) play a key role in controlling the activity of transposable elements (TEs) in the animal germline. In diverse arthropod species, including the pathogen vectors mosquitoes, the piRNA pathway is also active in nongonadal somatic tissues, where its targets and functions are less clear. Here, we studied the features of small RNA production in head and thorax tissues of an uninfected laboratory strain of Anopheles coluzzii focusing on the 24-32-nt-long RNAs. Small RNAs derived from repetitive elements constitute a minor fraction while most small RNAs process from long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and protein-coding gene mRNAs. The majority of small RNAs derived from repetitive elements and lncRNAs exhibited typical piRNAs features. By contrast, majority of protein-coding gene-derived 24-32 nt small RNAs lack the hallmarks of piRNAs and have signatures of nontemplated 3’ end tailing. Most of the atypical small RNAs exhibit female-biased expression and originate from mitochondrial and nuclear genes involved in energy metabolism. We also identified atypical genic small RNAs in Anopheles gambiae somatic tissues, which further validates the noncanonical mechanism of their production. We discuss a novel mechanism of small RNA production in mosquito somatic tissues and the possible functional significance of genic small RNAs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b0c02cba85c74889a13c07e1cea4ddda |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1547-6286 1555-8584 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | RNA Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-b0c02cba85c74889a13c07e1cea4ddda2025-02-07T07:19:18ZengTaylor & Francis GroupRNA Biology1547-62861555-85842025-02-0110.1080/15476286.2025.2463812Analysis of somatic piRNAs in the malaria mosquito Anopheles coluzzii reveals atypical classes of genic small RNAsSergei Funikov0Alexander Rezvykh1Natalia Akulenko2Jiangtao Liang3Igor V. Sharakhov4Alla Kalmykova5Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaEngelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaInstitute of Molecular Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaDepartment of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USADepartment of Entomology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USAKoltzov Institute of Developmental Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaPiwi-interacting small RNAs (piRNA) play a key role in controlling the activity of transposable elements (TEs) in the animal germline. In diverse arthropod species, including the pathogen vectors mosquitoes, the piRNA pathway is also active in nongonadal somatic tissues, where its targets and functions are less clear. Here, we studied the features of small RNA production in head and thorax tissues of an uninfected laboratory strain of Anopheles coluzzii focusing on the 24-32-nt-long RNAs. Small RNAs derived from repetitive elements constitute a minor fraction while most small RNAs process from long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and protein-coding gene mRNAs. The majority of small RNAs derived from repetitive elements and lncRNAs exhibited typical piRNAs features. By contrast, majority of protein-coding gene-derived 24-32 nt small RNAs lack the hallmarks of piRNAs and have signatures of nontemplated 3’ end tailing. Most of the atypical small RNAs exhibit female-biased expression and originate from mitochondrial and nuclear genes involved in energy metabolism. We also identified atypical genic small RNAs in Anopheles gambiae somatic tissues, which further validates the noncanonical mechanism of their production. We discuss a novel mechanism of small RNA production in mosquito somatic tissues and the possible functional significance of genic small RNAs.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15476286.2025.2463812Anopheles coluzziiatypical small RNAssomatic piRNAtransposable elementsmitochondrial small RNAspiRNA processing |
| spellingShingle | Sergei Funikov Alexander Rezvykh Natalia Akulenko Jiangtao Liang Igor V. Sharakhov Alla Kalmykova Analysis of somatic piRNAs in the malaria mosquito Anopheles coluzzii reveals atypical classes of genic small RNAs RNA Biology Anopheles coluzzii atypical small RNAs somatic piRNA transposable elements mitochondrial small RNAs piRNA processing |
| title | Analysis of somatic piRNAs in the malaria mosquito Anopheles coluzzii reveals atypical classes of genic small RNAs |
| title_full | Analysis of somatic piRNAs in the malaria mosquito Anopheles coluzzii reveals atypical classes of genic small RNAs |
| title_fullStr | Analysis of somatic piRNAs in the malaria mosquito Anopheles coluzzii reveals atypical classes of genic small RNAs |
| title_full_unstemmed | Analysis of somatic piRNAs in the malaria mosquito Anopheles coluzzii reveals atypical classes of genic small RNAs |
| title_short | Analysis of somatic piRNAs in the malaria mosquito Anopheles coluzzii reveals atypical classes of genic small RNAs |
| title_sort | analysis of somatic pirnas in the malaria mosquito anopheles coluzzii reveals atypical classes of genic small rnas |
| topic | Anopheles coluzzii atypical small RNAs somatic piRNA transposable elements mitochondrial small RNAs piRNA processing |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/15476286.2025.2463812 |
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