Piwi6 function in Aedes albopictus mosquitoes

PIWI-interacting (pi)RNAs play a crucial role in safeguarding genome integrity by repressing transposable elements (TEs) in the animal germline. In Aedes mosquitoes, however, piRNAs also regulate gene expression in somatic tissues, suggesting functional diversification of the piRNA pathway. Here, we generated Piwi6 knockouts (KO) in an Ae. Albopictus cell line, and through small-RNA sequencing, RNA-sequencing and chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-sequencing analyses, we found that Piwi6 mediates transcriptional gene silencing of LTR retrotransposons.