Variable expression levels detected in the Drosophila effectors of piRNA biogenesis

- piRNAs are the class of small RNA dedicated to transposable elements control.
- Genes of the pathway are rapidly evolving.
- We show that transcription levels of these genes in D. simulans were highly variable.
- Our results bring evolutionary considerations on TE and in the piRNA pathway.

piRNAs (piwi-interacting RNAs) are a class of small interfering RNAs that play a major role in the regulation of transposable elements (TEs) in Drosophila and are considered of fundamental importance in gonadal development. Genes encoding the effectors of the piRNA machinery are thus often thought to be highly constrained. On the contrary, as actors of genetic immunity, these genes have also been shown to evolve rapidly and display a high level of sequence variability. In order to assess the support for these competing models, we analyzed seven genes of the piRNA pathway using a collection of wild-type strains of Drosophila simulans, which are known to display significant variability in their TE content between strains. We showed that these genes exhibited wide variation in transcript levels, and we discuss some evolutionary considerations regarding the observed variability in TE copy numbers.