MatPred: Computational Identification of Mature MicroRNAs within Novel Pre-MicroRNAs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short noncoding RNAs integral for regulating gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. However, experimental methods often fall short in finding miRNAs expressed at low levels or in specific tissues. While several computational methods have been developed for predicting the localization of mature miRNAs within the precursor transcript, the prediction accuracy requires significant improvement.

Methodology/principal findings

Here, we present MatPred, which predicts mature miRNA candidates within novel pre-miRNA transcripts. In addition to the relative locus of the mature miRNA within the pre-miRNA hairpin loop and minimum free energy, we innovatively integrated features that describe the nucleotide-specific RNA secondary structure char

SUBMITTER: Li J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4670854 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature