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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

Rearing and Double-stranded RNA-mediated Gene Knockdown in the Hide Beetle, Dermestes maculatus
Published on: December 28, 2016
Small RNA-mediated quiescence of transposable elements in animals
Kuniaki Saito1, Mikiko C Siomi
1Department of Molecular Biology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan. saito@z6.keio.jp
Abstract:
Transposable elements (TEs) are major components of the intergenic regions of the genome. However, TE transposition has the potential to threaten the reproductive fitness of the organism; therefore, organisms have evolved specialized molecular systems to sense and repress the expression of TEs to stop them from jumping to other genomic loci. Emerging evidence suggests that Argonaute proteins play a critical role in this process, in collaboration with two types of cellular small RNAs: PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) of the germline and endogenous small interfering RNAs (endo-siRNAs) of the soma, both of which are transcribed from TEs themselves.
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