Subject: | microRNAs |
Presenter: | Rosalia Aguirre-hennandez |
Paper: | " The microRNAs of Caenorhabditis elegans. " |
  | by Lim LP, Lau NC, Weinstein EG, Abdelhakim A, Yekta S, Rhoades MW, Burge CB, Bartel DP. |
Abstract |
The microRNAs of Caenorhabditis elegans.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of tiny RNAs thought to regulate the
expression of protein-coding genes in plants and animals. In the present study,
we describe a computational procedure to identify miRNA genes conserved in more
than one genome. Applying this program, known as MiRscan, together with
molecular identification and validation methods, we have identified most of the
miRNA genes in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The total number of
validated miRNA genes stands at 88, with no more than 35 genes remaining to be
detected or validated. These 88 miRNA genes represent 48 gene families; 46 of
these families (comprising 86 of the 88 genes) are conserved in Caenorhabditis
briggsae, and 22 families are conserved in humans. More than a third of the
worm miRNAs, including newly identified members of the lin-4 and let-7 gene
families, are differentially expressed during larval development, suggesting a
role for these miRNAs in mediating larval developmental transitions. Most are
present at very high steady-state levels-more than 1000 molecules per cell,
with some exceeding 50,000 molecules per cell. Our census of the worm miRNAs
and their expression patterns helps define this class of noncoding RNAs, lays
the groundwork for functional studies, and provides the tools for more
comprehensive analyses of miRNA genes in other species
Reference:
Lim LP, Lau NC, Weinstein EG, Abdelhakim A, Yekta S, Rhoades MW, Burge CB,
Bartel DP. 2003. The microRNAs of Caenorhabditis elegans. Genes Dev.
Apr 15; 17(8):991-1008.
The paper is available at http://www.birc.dk/Activities/BioinfSeminar/papers/lim-elegans.pdf
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