{
  "abstract": "In Metazoa, transposon expression is suppressed by the piRNA pathway, and disruption of this pathway leads to rampant transposon expression. However, it remains unclear whether increased transposon expression results in actual transposition, and if so, which and how frequently transposons mobilize upon piRNA loss. Here, we developed a framework to track transposon copy accumulation across generations on a single set of nonrecombining haploid genome in the Drosophila male germline, with or without the piRNA biogenesis factor HP1D/Rhino. Single-fly Nanopore DNA sequencing revealed that multiple transposon families mobilized after 10 to 45 generations of piRNA loss. Among them, the most prolific across all replicates was copia, producing dozens of new insertions that were distributed across chromosome arms. With genomic DNA collected at every generation, we validated and dated each copia insertion, revealing episodic bursts of transposition that deviated strongly from a Poisson process. Using phylogenetic analysis, we further showed that multiple copia loci—both autonomous and nonautonomous copies—can mobilize. Interestingly, two additional transposon families, mdg3 and invader3, also mobilized episodically, but with distinct timing and magnitude, highlighting the stochastic nature of transposition bursts. Because we did not observe a single transposition event for these elements in controls, our results provide direct evidence that the piRNA pathway tightly suppresses germline transposition. More importantly, our findings argue that disruption of the piRNA pathway does not simply elevate transposition rates, but it instead unleashes punctuated and stochastic bursts of transposon movement that may radically reshape the timing and magnitude of mutational input during evolution.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853",
    "Harvard-Massachusetts Institute of Technology Program in Health Sciences and Technology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115"
  ],
  "article_type": "research article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Peiwei Chen",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7160-6673"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Peiyu Xu",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4733-2806"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Hamna Waseem",
      "orcid": "0009-0007-4925-6639"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "John McCormick"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Katherine C. Pan",
      "orcid": "0009-0003-9701-9436"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Alexei A. Aravin"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Andrew G. Clark",
      "orcid": "0000-0001-7159-8511"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Cédric Feschotte",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-8772-6976"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8crgp1wqr2q22.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1073/pnas.2623866123",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13732081/",
  "id": "8crgp1wqr2q22",
  "issns": [
    "0027-8424",
    "1091-6490"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2623866123",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "419"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Biological Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Genetics"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1311|Chromosomal and Genetic Variations"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7169524549",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13732081",
  "pmid": "42949961",
  "published": "2026-10-28",
  "publisher": "National Academy of Sciences",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8crgp1wqr2q22.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T12:22:08Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13732081",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2623866123"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "heading:Genetics",
      "subfield": "genetics-genomics"
    }
  ],
  "title": "piRNA loss unleashes episodic transposition bursts",
  "title_text": "piRNA loss unleashes episodic transposition bursts",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:22:08Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/8crgp1wqr2q22",
  "venue": "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America",
  "versions": []
}