MicroRNA target prediction programs predict many false positives.

ABSTRACT: According to the current view, each microRNA regulates hundreds of genes. Computational tools aim at identifying microRNA targets, usually selecting evolutionarily conserved microRNA binding sites. While the false positive rates have been evaluated for some prediction programs, that information is rarely put forward in studies making use of their predictions. Here, we provide evidence that such predictions are often biologically irrelevant. Focusing on miR-223-guided repression, we observed that it is often smaller than inter-individual variability in gene expression among wild-type mice, suggesting that most predicted targets are functionally insensitive to that microRNA. Furthermore, we found that human haplo-insufficient genes tend to bear the most highly conserved microRNA binding site

SUBMITTER: Pinzon N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5287229 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature