Zhao Zhang

Journal Article Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol · October 2025 Nearly half of the genome of humans and other mammals consists of transposable elements (TEs). Recent advancements in sequencing technologies have revealed that TEs have important regulatory functions, echoing Barbara McClintock's 1950s vision of TEs as 'c ... Full text Link to item Cite

Transposon persistence and control in germ cells.

Journal Article Curr Opin Genet Dev · August 2025 Transposons, or 'jumping genes', are ubiquitous genomic elements with the dual capacity to drive evolutionary innovation and disrupt genome integrity through gene mutation and DNA damage. Their activity is particularly significant in germline cells, which ... Full text Link to item Cite

Structural insights into RNA cleavage by PIWI Argonaute.

Journal Article Nature · March 2025 Argonaute proteins are categorized into AGO and PIWI clades. Across most animal species, AGO-clade proteins are widely expressed in various cell types, and regulate normal gene expression1. By contrast, PIWI-clade proteins predominantly function during gam ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mammalian PIWI-piRNA-target complexes reveal features for broad and efficient target silencing.

Journal Article Nat Struct Mol Biol · August 2024 The PIWI-interacting RNA (piRNA) pathway is an adaptive defense system wherein piRNAs guide PIWI family Argonaute proteins to recognize and silence ever-evolving selfish genetic elements and ensure genome integrity. Driven by this intensive host-pathogen a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Branched-Chain Amino Acid Accumulation Fuels the Senescence-Associated Secretory Phenotype.

Journal Article Adv Sci (Weinh) · January 2024 The essential branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) leucine, isoleucine, and valine play critical roles in protein synthesis and energy metabolism. Despite their widespread use as nutritional supplements, BCAAs' full effects on mammalian physiology remain unc ... Full text Open Access Link to item Cite

Retrotransposons hijack alt-EJ for DNA replication and eccDNA biogenesis.

Journal Article Nature · August 2023 Retrotransposons are highly enriched in the animal genome1-3. The activation of retrotransposons can rewrite host DNA information and fundamentally impact host biology1-3. Although developmental activation of retrotransposons can offer benefits for the hos ... Full text Link to item Cite

Retrotransposon activation during Drosophila metamorphosis conditions adult antiviral responses.

Journal Article Nat Genet · December 2022 Retrotransposons are one type of mobile genetic element that abundantly reside in the genomes of nearly all animals. Their uncontrolled activation is linked to sterility, cancer and other pathologies, thereby being largely considered detrimental. Here we r ... Full text Link to item Cite

Retrotransposons hijack alt-EJ DNA repair process for mobilization and eccDNA biogenesis

Preprint · 2022 Full text Cite

Drosophila P75 safeguards oogenesis by preventing H3K9me2 spreading.

Journal Article J Genet Genomics · April 20, 2020 Serving as a host factor for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) integration, LEDGF/p75 has been under extensive study as a potential target for therapy. However, as a highly conserved protein, its physiological function remains to be thoroughly elucidated. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Developmental retrotransposon activation primes host immunity for future viral-clearance

Journal Article · 2020 Transposons are thought to be largely suppressed under physiological conditions, ensuring that their mobilization is a rare event. By tracking mobilization, we show that during metamorphosis at the Drosophila pupal stage, the Gypsy retrotransposon selectiv ... Full text Cite

A Robust Transposon-Endogenizing Response from Germline Stem Cells.

Journal Article Dev Cell · December 3, 2018 The heavy occupancy of transposons in the genome implies that existing organisms have survived from multiple, independent rounds of transposon invasions. However, how and which host cell types survive the initial wave of transposon invasion remain unclear. ... Full text Link to item Cite

Structural insights into Rhino-Deadlock complex for germline piRNA cluster specification.

Journal Article EMBO Rep · July 2018 PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) silence transposons in germ cells to maintain genome stability and animal fertility. Rhino, a rapidly evolving heterochromatin protein 1 (HP1) family protein, binds Deadlock in a species-specific manner and so defines the piR ... Full text Link to item Cite