Evolution of an X-Linked miRNA Family Predominantly Expressed in Mammalian Male Germ Cells.

ABSTRACT: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression. However, comprehensive expression profiles of miRNAs during mammalian spermatogenesis are lacking. Herein, we sequenced small RNAs in highly purified mouse spermatogenic cells at different stages. We found that a family of X-linked miRNAs named spermatogenesis-related miRNAs (spermiRs) is predominantly expressed in the early meiotic phases and has a conserved testis-specific high expression pattern in different mammals. We identified one spermiR homolog in opossum; this homolog might originate from THER1, a retrotransposon that is active in marsupials but extinct in current placental mammals. SpermiRs have expanded rapidly with mammalian evolution and are diverged into two clades, spermiR-L and spermiR-R, w

SUBMITTER: Zhang F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6445303 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature