The Research Progress of Biological Function of piRNA， the New Found Non-coding Small RNA

Abstract: Piwi-interacting RNA， piRNA， is a type of new found non-coding small RNA with the length of 24~33 nt. They play biological roles through the specific combination with the Piwi protein. The genes encoding piRNA are almost located throughout the whole genome， indicating that piRNA has been present in the early stage of origin of life and been preserved by natural selection in species evolution. Great achievements have been obtained since piRNA was discovered. The crucial roles of piRNA were revealed in the differentiation of germline stem cells， embryonic development， maintaining DNA integrity， regulation of epigenetic and sex determination. The research on piRNA may lead to improve our understanding of the life phenomena associated with regulation of gene expression. In this review， we introduce the latest developments related to biological function of piRNA.

CSTR: 32200.14.cjcb.2010.03.0023