piwi

P3I1W4I1
/ˈpiwi/

noun

A class of genes originally identified as encoding regulatory proteins responsible for maintaining incomplete differentiation in stem cells and maintaining the stability of cell division rates in germline cells.

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Meanings

nounpiwi (plural piwis)

plural piwis

  1. attributivebiologyA class of genes originally identified as encoding regulatory proteins responsible for maintaining incomplete differentiation in stem cells and maintaining the stability of cell division rates in germline cells.

    However, piwi and tudor-domain containing genes are absent from flukes and tapeworms and no true vasa orthologue has been identified in schistosomes.

    2015 August 25, David Roquis et al., “The Epigenome of Schistosoma mansoni Provides Insight about How Cercariae Poise Transcription until Infection”, in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, volume 9, →DOI
  2. a small Australian magpie lark, also known as a Murray magpie.

Origin

Short for P-element induced wimpy testis in Drosophila.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

piwi. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/piwi

MLA

“piwi.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/piwi. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “piwi,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/piwi.

Source: piwi on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.