Sequence relationships among C. elegans, D. melanogaster and human microRNAs highlight the extensive conservation of microRNAs in biology.

ABSTRACT: microRNAs act in a prevalent and conserved post-transcriptional gene regulatory mechanism that impacts development, homeostasis and disease, yet biological functions for the vast majority of miRNAs remain unknown. Given the power of invertebrate genetics to promote rapid evaluation of miRNA function, recently expanded miRNA identifications (miRBase 10.1), and the importance of assessing potential functional redundancies within and between species, we evaluated miRNA sequence relationships by 5' end match and overall homology criteria to compile a snapshot overview of miRNA families within the C. elegans and D. melanogaster genomes that includes their identified human counterparts. This compilation expands literature documentation of both the number of families and the number of family memb

SUBMITTER: Ibanez-Ventoso C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2486268 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature