Genomic features and computational identification of human microRNAs under long-range developmental regulation.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Recent functional studies have demonstrated that many microRNAs (miRNAs) are expressed by RNA polymerase II in a specific spatiotemporal manner during the development of organisms and play a key role in cell-lineage decisions and morphogenesis. They are therefore functionally related to a number of key protein coding developmental genes, that form genomic regulatory blocks (GRBs) with arrays of highly conserved non-coding elements (HCNEs) functioning as long-range enhancers that collaboratively regulate the expression of their target genes. Given this functional similarity as well as recent zebrafish transgenesis assays showing that the miR-9 family is indeed regulated by HCNEs with enhancer activity, we hypothesized that this type of miRNA regulation is prevalent. In th

SUBMITTER: Sheng Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3123655 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature