piRNA Ping-Pong Cycle (2D): Germline Transposon Silencing

Watch the piRNA ping-pong amplification loop run inside a stylised germline nuage granule, rendered as a 2D agent-based particle field with a live population history strip beneath it: transposon mRNA transcripts spawn from the genome, PIWI-clade Argonaute complexes (Aub and Ago3) patrol the granule, and every complementary encounter triggers a slicer cleavage that destroys the target transcript while minting a brand-new piRNA for the opposite complex. Tune transposon transcription, piRNA cluster output, slicer efficiency, complex turnover, granule size and diffusion speed to see the system swing between runaway transposon expression and tight, self-sustaining silencing — the same feedback loop that protects animal germlines from insertional mutagenesis. Drag the main view to pan and scroll to zoom.