Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• de Souza Gomes, Matheus
• Donoghue, Mark T. A.
• Muniyappa, MohanKumar
• Pereira, Roberta Verciano
• Guerra-Sá, Renata
• Spillane, Charles

Titel

Computational Identification and Evolutionary Relationships of the MicroRNA Gene Cluster miR-71/2 in Protostomes

Ist Teil von

• Journal of molecular evolution, 2013-06, Vol.76 (6), p.353-358

Ort / Verlag

Boston: Springer US

Erscheinungsjahr

2013

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA molecules which are processed into ~20–24 nt molecules that can regulate the gene expression post-transcriptionally. MiRNA gene clusters have been identified in a range of species, where in miRNAs are often processed from polycistronic transcripts. In this study, a computational approach is used to investigate the extent of evolutionary conservation of the miR-71/2 cluster in animals, and to identify novel miRNAs in the miRNA cluster miR-71/2. The miR-71/2 cluster, consisting of copies of the miR-71 and miR-2 (including miR-13) families, was found to be Protostome-specific. Although, this cluster is highly conserved across the Protostomia, the miR-2 family is completely absent from the Deuterostomia species, while miR-71 is absent from the Vertebrata and Urochordata. The evolutionary conservation and clustering propensity of the miR-71/2 family across the Protostomes could indicate the common functional roles across the member species of the Protostomia.