Fig. 1
Reduction in motif-dependent piRNA biogenesis at increased temperature. a Expression of GFP in nuclei of the gonad (G), oocytes (Oo) and eggs (E) of animals carrying the piRNA sensor at 20 °C in the wild-type strain (WT, left), and in mutants for the piRNA pathway (prg-1 and prde-1, right). b Proportion of wild-type animals expressing GFP at 20 °C and 25 °C. At least 30 worms have been screened for each conditions in each of the 4 replicates (20 °C ntotal = 138, 25 °C ntotal = 208, two-sided Student’s t test). Animals were grown at the tested temperature for their entire developmental cycle (i.e. from fertilisation to adulthood). c Proportion of wild-type animals expressing GFP at 20 °C (n = 75), 21.5 °C (n = 50), 22.5 °C (n = 45), 25 °C (n = 89) and 26 °C (n = 49). d Log2 motif-dependent piRNA counts normalised to the total number small RNAs in the wild-type strain at 20 °C and 25 °C. Animals were grown at the tested temperature from the first larval stage to adulthood. 18,571 piRNA loci with a motif score > 7 according to the algorithm used in Ruby et al. [15] were examined. e Abundance of piRNA precursors (26 to 30 nt) in the wild-type strain at 20 °C and 25 °C. piRNA precursors from any of the 18,571 loci as above were examined