Single nucleotide polymorphisms in piRNA-pathway genes: an insight into genetic determinants of human diseases.

With the development of advanced high-throughput genotyping technologies, there has been a dramatic improvement in identifying millions of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the human genome. SNPs located within the genes involved in biogenesis and function of small regulatory RNAs such as PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) can alter physiological processes by affecting gene expression. The genetic variations within PIWI genes and their associated factors such as TDRDs, EIFs, and KIF17 etc.