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Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Identification of Inositol Phosphate or Phosphoinositide Interacting Proteins by Affinity Chromatography Coupled to Western Blot or Mass Spectrometry
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Identification of Inositol Phosphate or Phosphoinositide Interacting Proteins by Affinity Chromatography Coupled to Western Blot or Mass Spectrometry

Published on: July 26, 2019

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Yb integrates piRNA intermediates and processing factors into perinuclear bodies to enhance piRISC assembly

Yukiko Murota1, Hirotsugu Ishizu2, Shinichi Nakagawa3

  • 1Institute for Genome Research, University of Tokushima, Tokushima 770-8503, Japan; Department of Molecular Biology, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan.

Cell Reports
|June 24, 2014
PubMed

Insights

The study identifies "Flam bodies," new structures crucial for piRNA maturation in Drosophila ovarian cells. Yb protein is essential for Flam body formation and piRNA processing, highlighting its upstream role in the piRNA pathway.

Area of Science:

  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Cell Biology

Background:

  • PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are vital for genome integrity by repressing transposons in Drosophila ovarian somatic cells.
  • piRNA biogenesis and Piwi association occur at perinuclear Yb bodies, central hubs for these processes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the localization and formation of piRNA intermediates originating from the flamenco (flam) piRNA cluster.
  • To identify the key factors involved in the formation of novel perinuclear foci, termed Flam bodies, adjacent to Yb bodies.

Main Methods:

  • RNA interference (RNAi) screening of piRNA pathway factors.
  • Localization studies of piRNA intermediates and proteins using microscopy.
  • Analysis of the RNA-binding activity of the Yb protein.

Main Results:

  • piRNA intermediates from the flam cluster form perinuclear Flam bodies.
  • Flam body formation requires the Yb protein but not Piwi or Armitage.
  • The RNA-binding activity of Yb is essential for both Flam bodies and Yb bodies.
  • Yb directly binds flam transcripts, not neighboring protein-coding genes.

Conclusions:

  • Yb acts as a crucial upstream factor, selectively integrating piRNA intermediates and processing factors into Flam bodies and Yb bodies.
  • Yb plays a central role in the cytoplasmic phase of the piRNA pathway in Drosophila ovarian somatic cells.

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