MIWI2 targets RNAs transcribed from piRNA-dependently methylated regions in mouse gonocytes

Piwi proteins are a subfamily of Argonaute family protein. Piwi proteins bind to small RNAs that we call Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). Piwi and piRNAs are involved in retrotransposon suppression in the germline of diverse multicellular animals. Piwi find target RNAs using piRNAs as guides and cleaves the target RNAs. In addition to post-transcriptional regulation, Piwi and piRNAs repress targets at the transcriptional level in some cases. Mice have three Piwi proteins, named Mili, Miwi, and Miwi2. Of these, Miwi2 and Mili are involved in transcriptional regulation. In this project, we conducted Bisulfite-seq analyses in Mili heterozygote and homozygote mice to identify genomic loci that are regulated by the piRNA pathway at the transcriptional level. In addition, we conducted RNA-seq, small RNA seq, and CHIP-seq analyses to understand the mechanisms of transcriptional regulation by the piRNA pathway.