A somatic piRNA pathway in the Drosophila fat body ensures metabolic homeostasis and normal lifespan

Jones, Brian C.; Wood, Jason G.; Chang, Chengyi; Tam, Austin D.; Franklin, Michael J.; Siegel, Emily R.; Helfand, Stephen L.

doi:10.1038/ncomms13856

A somatic piRNA pathway in the Drosophila fat body ensures metabolic homeostasis and normal lifespan

In gonadal tissues, the Piwi-interacting (piRNA) pathway preserves genomic integrity by employing 23–29 nucleotide (nt) small RNAs complexed with argonaute proteins to suppress parasitic mobile sequences of DNA called transposable elements (TEs). Although recent evidence suggests that the piRNA p…