Small RNA-directed silencing: the fly finds its inner fission yeast?
Several recent studies demonstrate that piRNAs guide Piwi protein to repress transposon transcription in fly ovaries, much as fission yeast use siRNAs to silence repeat sequences. Still mysterious though is how Piwi targets euchromatic transposons for silencing, but not the specialized heterochromatic loci that produce piRNA precursors.
Ge DT, Zamore PD