in which germ-line maintenance has been extensively studied. piRNAs and transposon silencing A novel class of longer-than-average miRNAs known as Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) has been defined in mammalian cells, about 26-31 nucleotides long as compared to the more typical miRNA or siRNA of about 21 nucleotides. These piRNAs are expressed mainly in spermatogenic cells in the testes of mammals. But studies have reported that piRNA expression can be found in the ovarian somatic cells and neuron cells in invertebrates, as well as in many other mammalian somatic cells. piRNAs have been identified in the genomes of mice, rats, and humans, with an unusual "clustered" genomic organization that may originate from repetitive regions of the genome such as retrotransposons or regions normally organized into heterochromatin, and which are normally derived exclusively from the antisense strand of double-stranded RNA. piRNAs have thus been classified as repeat-associated small interfering RNAs (rasiRNAs). Although their biogenesis is not yet well understood, piRNAs and Piwi proteins are thought to form an endogenous system for silencing the expression of selfish genetic elements such as retrotransposons and thus preventing the gene products of such sequences from interfering with germ cell formation. References External links – Piwi domain in SCOP – Piwi domain in PROSITE UNIPROT Piwi - Piwi domains Proteins Protein domains