= Piwi-interacting RNA
{c}
= piRNA
{c}
{synonym}
A <guide RNA> associated with Piwi-family <proteins>. Most characterized <animal> <piRNA> pathways use <Dicer>-independent processing of single-stranded precursors; the approximately 21-nucleotide C. elegans 21U <RNAs> are distinct from the longer typical fly and mammalian piRNAs.<Specialized piRNA Pathways Act in Germline and Somatic Tissues of the Drosophila Ovary by Colin D. Malone and others>[2009, pp. 522–535, somatic and germline pathway-mutant comparisons]{ref}
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