Plants do not specify their germline until late in their life cycle. Hence, the plant germline is normally specified from terminally differentiated somatic cells, though the precise mechanism(s) are unknown. We have found that male gametogenesis in maize is associated with the accumulation of distinct 21-nt phased small-interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs) generated by meiosis-associated argonaute (MAGO) proteins. MAGO1 accumulates in the epidermis of pre-meiotic anthers while MAGO2 is found in developing meiocytes. We have found that MAGO proteins are required for meiocyte development as mutants display chromosomal defects and male infertility. Furthermore, we detect the heat stress-induced activation of a distinct class of Long terminal repeat retrotransposons in the male germline of MAGO mutants. Our data suggests that MAGO proteins and the reproductive phasiRNAs play important roles protecting the germline from transposable elements during environmental stress conditions.