microRNA (miRNA)和small interfering RNA(siRNA)在真核生物生命活动的基本过程中发挥着重要的调节作用。随着对siRNA和miRNA研究的不断深入, 最近科学家在研究大鼠雄性精子时发现哺乳动物睾丸内存在另一种新型的小RNA分子, 该分子在精子发生过程中起着重要的生理调节作用, 该种小分子RNA被命名为piRNA, 在功能、分布和分子特征等方面piRNA较miRNA和siRNA存在着显著的不同, 对piRNA深入研究有望揭示出机体内在的基因表达调节机制。

It has been demonstrated that microRNA (miRNA) and small interfering RNA(siRNA) play an important role in the basically physiological regulation of eukaryotic organisms. With the intensive study on siRNA and miRNA, scientists recently have discovered that there exists a novel type of small RNA named as piRNA in the mammalian testes, which is essential for physiological modulation of spermiogenesis and different from miRNA or siRNA in functions, gene distribu-tions and characteristics. It is well believed that the more intensive research on piRNA will throw light on the delicate mechanisms of gene expression modulation for eukaryotic species.