Peilin Guo, Ye Yu, Hongxia Kang, Yutong Liu, Dalin Zhu, Chenxin Sun, Zhiping Xing, Ziyue Tang, Kai Chen, Anjiang Tan
The prominent role of the P-element induced wimpy testis (PIWI)-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway in animals is to silence transposable elements and maintain genome stability, ensuring proper gametogenesis in gonads. GASZ (Germ cell protein with Ankyrin repeats, Sterile alpha motif, and leucine Zipper) is an evolutionarily conserved protein located on the outer mitochondrial membrane of germ cells and plays vital roles in the piRNA pathway and spermatogenesis in mammals. In the model insect Drosophila melanogaster, GASZ is essential for piRNA biogenesis and oogenesis, whereas its biological functions in non-drosophilid insects are still unknown...
May 10, 2024: Insect Molecular Biology