Abstract
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.
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Abbreviations
- miRNA:
-
microRNA
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Acknowledgments
CS and MTAD thank the support of Science Foundation Ireland grants 02/IN.1/B49 and 08/IN.1/B1931. GMS was supported by The Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (Capes Foundation—Scholarship Proc. no. 1495-10-0) and FAPEMIG (CBB 2935/09).
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Matheus de Souza Gomes and Mark T. A. Donoghue contributed equally to this study.
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de Souza Gomes, M., Donoghue, M.T.A., Muniyappa, M. et al. Computational Identification and Evolutionary Relationships of the MicroRNA Gene Cluster miR-71/2 in Protostomes. J Mol Evol 76, 353–358 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-013-9563-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00239-013-9563-2