In the metazoan germline, piwi proteins and associated piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) provide a defense system against the expression of transposable elements. In the cytoplasm, piRNA sequences guide piwi complexes to destroy complementary transposon transcripts by endonucleolytic cleavage. However, some piwi family members are nuclear, raising the possibility of alternative pathways for piRNA-mediated regulation of gene expression. We found that Drosophila Piwi is recruited to chromatin, colocalizing with RNA polymerase II (Pol II) on polytene chromosomes. Knockdown of Piwi in the germline increases expression of transposable elements that are targeted by piRNAs, whereas protein-coding genes remain largely unaffected. Derepression of transposons upon Piwi depletion correlates with increased occupancy of Pol II on their promoters. Expression of piRNAs that target a reporter construct results in a decrease in Pol II occupancy and an increase in repressive H3K9me3 marks and heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) on the reporter locus. Our results indicate that Piwi identifies targets complementary to the associated piRNA and induces transcriptional repression by establishing a repressive chromatin state when correct targets are found.

Small noncoding RNAs that associate with Piwi proteins, called piRNAs, serve as guides for repression of diverse transposable elements in germ cells of metazoa. In Drosophila, the genomic regions that give rise to piRNAs, the so-called piRNA clusters, are transcribed to generate long precursor molecules that are processed into mature piRNAs. How genomic regions that give rise to piRNA precursor transcripts are differentiated from the rest of the genome and how these transcripts are specifically channeled into the piRNA biogenesis pathway are not known. We found that transgenerationally inherited piRNAs provide the critical trigger for piRNA production from homologous genomic regions in the next generation by two different mechanisms. First, inherited piRNAs enhance processing of homologous transcripts into mature piRNAs by initiating the ping-pong cycle in the cytoplasm. Second, inherited piRNAs induce installment of the histone 3 Lys9 trimethylation (H3K9me3) mark on genomic piRNA cluster sequences. The heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) homolog Rhino binds to the H3K9me3 mark through its chromodomain and is enriched over piRNA clusters. Rhino recruits the piRNA biogenesis factor Cutoff to piRNA clusters and is required for efficient transcription of piRNA precursors. We propose that transgenerationally inherited piRNAs act as an epigenetic memory for identification of substrates for piRNA biogenesis on two levels: by inducing a permissive chromatin environment for piRNA precursor synthesis and by enhancing processing of these precursors.

Transposable elements (TEs) occupy a large fraction of metazoan genomes and pose a constant threat to genomic integrity. This threat is particularly critical in germ cells, as changes in the genome that are induced by TEs will be transmitted to the next generation. Small noncoding piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) recognize and silence a diverse set of TEs in germ cells. In mice, piRNA-guided transposon repression correlates with establishment of CpG DNA methylation on their sequences, yet the mechanism and the spectrum of genomic targets of piRNA silencing are unknown. Here we show that in addition to DNA methylation, the piRNA pathway is required to maintain a high level of the repressive H3K9me3 histone modification on long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) in germ cells. piRNA-dependent chromatin repression targets exclusively full-length elements of actively transposing LINE families, demonstrating the remarkable ability of the piRNA pathway to recognize active elements among the large number of genomic transposon fragments.

The eukaryotic Ago proteins and the RNA interference pathways they are involved in are widely used as a powerful tool in research and as potential therapeutics. In contrast, the properties and functions of prokaryotic Ago (pAgo) proteins have remained poorly understood. Understanding the diversity and functions of pAgos holds a huge potential for discovery of new cellular pathways and novel tools for genome manipulations. Only few pAgos have been characterized by structural or biochemical approaches, while previous genomic studies discovered about 300 proteins in archaeal and eubacterial genomes. Since that time the number of bacterial strains with sequenced genomes has greatly expanded, and many previously sequenced genomes have been revised. We undertook comprehensive analysis of pAgo proteins in sequenced genomes and almost tripled the number of known genes of this family. Our research thus forms a foundation for further experimental characterization of pAgo functions that will be important for understanding of the basic biology of these proteins and their adoption as a potential tool for genome engineering in the future.