Subject: | MicroRNAs |
Presenter: | Rosalia Aguirre-Hernandez |
Paper: | " Structural Features of MicroRNA (miRNA) Precursors and Their Relevance to miRNA Biogenesis and Small Interfering RNA/Short Hairpin RNA Design. " |
  | by Jacek Krol, Krzysztof Sobczak, Urszula Wilczynska, Maria Drath, Anna Jasinska, Danuta Kaczynska, and Wlodzimierz J. Krzyzosiak |
Abstract |
Structural Features of MicroRNA (miRNA) Precursors and Their
Relevance to miRNA Biogenesis and Small Interfering RNA/Short
Hairpin RNA Design.
We have established the structures of 10 human microRNA (miRNA) precursors
using biochemical methods. Eight of these structures turned out to be
different from those that were computer-predicted. The differences localized
in the terminal loop region and at the opposite side of the precursor
hairpin stem. We have analyzed the features of these structures from the
perspectives of miRNA biogenesis and active strand selection. We
demonstrated the different thermodynamic stability profiles for pre-miRNA
hairpins harboring miRNAs at their 5'- and 3'-sides and discussed their
functional implications. Our results showed that miRNA prediction based on
predicted precursor structures may give ambiguous results, and the success
rate is significantly higher for the experimentally determined structures.
On the other hand, the differences between the predicted and experimentally
determined structures did not affect the stability of termini produced
through "conceptual dicing." This result confirms the value of thermodynamic
analysis based on mfold as a predictor of strand section by RNAi-induced
silencing complex (RISC).
Reference:
Krol J, Sobczak K, Wilczynska U, Drath M, Jasinska A, Kaczynska
D, Krzyosiak WJ. (2004). Structural features of microRNA
(miRNA) precursors and their relevance to miRNA biogenesis and
small interfering RNA/short hairpin RNA design. J Biol Chem.
Oct 1; 279(40):42230-9.
The paper is available at http://www.jbc.org/cgi/content/full/279/40/42230
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