A noncanonical Pol III-dependent, Microprocessor-independent biogenesis pathway generates a germline enriched miRNA family.

ABSTRACT: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNAs that post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. In canonical miRNA biogenesis, primary miRNAs are transcribed from intergenic loci or intronic regions by RNA polymerase II, sequentially cleaved by the Microprocessor complex and Dicer, and resulting mature miRNAs are loaded into Argonaute to repress target mRNAs. A minority of miRNAs are generated via noncanonical biogenesis pathways that bypass the Microprocessor and/or Dicer. Here, we describe a new Pol III-dependent, Microprocessor-independent, and Dicer-dependent biogenesis pathway exemplified by the mir-1829 family in C. elegans. Although the mir-1829 family loci reside in intronic regions of protein-coding genes, we show that the miRNAs are derived from independent Pol III t

SUBMITTER: Sakhawala RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12157501 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature