Gene expression
How do microRNAs recognize their targets?
Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC
Sites with as little as seven base pairs matching the miRNA 5′ end can confer regulation; such 5′-dominant sites are common in conserved 3′ UTRs.
How this study connects
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Discoveries this paper informs or conflicts with
- Seven matching bases were enough — and the leading predictors were looking for the wrong thing
This paper informs this development.
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How do microRNAs recognize their targets?
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5′ dominant sites occur 2- to 3-fold more often than random in conserved 3′ UTRs.
Genome-wide, 5′ dominant sites occur 2- to 3-fold more often in conserved 3′ UTR sequences than would be expected at random.
How short can a functional miRNA site be?
sites with as little as seven base-pairs of complementarity to the miRNA 5′ end are sufficient to confer regulation in vivo and are used in biologically relevant targets.
Key findings
Seven-bp complementarity to the miRNA 5′ end suffices for in vivo regulation; genome-wide, 5′-dominant sites occur 2–3× more often than random in conserved 3′ UTRs and were often missed by energy-optimized predictors.
Methodology
Combined experimental and computational analyses of miRNA–target pairing rules in animals.
Limitations
Rules are for animal miRNAs studied; not every predicted site is equally functional in every tissue.
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