Condensate cooperativity underlies transgenerational gene silencing.

Biomolecular condensates have been shown to interact in vivo, yet it is unclear whether these interactions are functionally meaningful. Here, we demonstrate that cooperativity between two distinct condensates-germ granules and P bodies-is required for transgenerational gene silencing in C. elegans.

Sensitized piRNA reporter identifies multiple RNA processing factors involved in piRNA-mediated gene silencing.

Metazoans guard their germlines against transposons and other foreign transcripts with PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). Due to the robust heritability of the silencing initiated by piRNAs in Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), previous screens using C.

Transcriptome-wide analyses of piRNA binding sites suggest distinct mechanisms regulate piRNA binding and silencing in .

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) protect genome integrity by silencing transposon mRNAs and some endogenous mRNAs in various animals. However, piRNAs only trigger gene silencing at select predicted targeting sites, suggesting additional cellular mechanisms regulate piRNA silencing. To gain insight into possible mechanisms, we compared the transcriptome-wide predicted piRNA targeting sites to the in vivo piRNA binding sites.

GLH/VASA helicases promote germ granule formation to ensure the fidelity of piRNA-mediated transcriptome surveillance.

piRNAs function as guardians of the genome by silencing non-self nucleic acids and transposable elements in animals. Many piRNA factors are enriched in perinuclear germ granules, but whether their localization is required for piRNA biogenesis or function is not known. Here we show that GLH/VASA helicase mutants exhibit defects in forming perinuclear condensates containing PIWI and other small RNA cofactors.

CLASH Analyst: A Web Server to Identify In Vivo RNA-RNA Interactions from CLASH Data.

Non-coding RNAs, such as miRNAs and piRNAs, play critical roles in gene regulation through base-pairing interactions with their target molecules. The recent development of the crosslinking, ligation, and sequencing of hybrids (CLASH) method has allowed scientists to map transcriptome-wide RNA-RNA interactions by identifying chimeric reads consisting of fragments from regulatory RNAs and their targets. However, analyzing CLASH data requires scientists to use advanced bioinformatics, and currently available tools are limited for users with little bioinformatic experience.

The Dynamics of P Granule Liquid Droplets Are Regulated by the Germline RNA Helicase GLH-1 via Its ATP Hydrolysis Cycle.

P granules are phase-separated liquid droplets that play important roles in the maintenance of germ cell fate in Both the localization and formation of P granules are highly dynamic, but mechanisms that regulate such processes remain poorly understood. Here, we show evidence that the VASA-like germline RNA helicase GLH-1 couples distinct steps of its ATPase hydrolysis cycle to control the formation and disassembly of P granules. In addition, we found that the phenylalanine-glycine-glycine repeats in GLH-1 promote its localization at the perinucleus.

piRTarBase: a database of piRNA targeting sites and their roles in gene regulation.

PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) are a class of small noncoding RNAs that guard animal genomes against mutation by silencing transposons. In addition, recent studies have reported that piRNAs silence various endogenous genes. Tens of thousands of distinct piRNAs made in animals do not pair well to transposons and currently the functions and targets of piRNAs are largely unexplored.

pirScan: a webserver to predict piRNA targeting sites and to avoid transgene silencing in C. elegans.

pirScan is a web-based tool for identifying C. elegans piRNA-targeting sites within a given mRNA or spliced DNA sequence. The purpose of our tool is to allow C.