Project description:miRNA sponge, a special class of miRNA target, has been emerging as a pivotal player in miRNA mediated regulatory network. Currently, the identified miRNA sponge genes mostly act on sequestering conserved miRNAs (e.g. miR-7, miR-145), however, the existence, potential function and evolutionary process of miRNA sponge genes for species-specific miRNA, especially for human specific miRNA, are largely unknown. In this study, we conducted a systematic analysis including sponge gene identification and subsequent function and evolutionary analyses for an authentic human-specific miRNA, miR-941.
