Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 104, Issue 45, Pages 17719-17724Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0703890104
Keywords
-
Categories
Funding
- Wellcome Trust Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important genetic regulators of development, differentiation, growth, and metabolism. The mammalian genome encodes approximate to 500 known miRNA genes. Approximately 50% are expressed from non-protein-coding transcripts, whereas the rest are located mostly in the introns of coding genes. Intronic miRNAs are generally transcribed coincidentally with their host genes. However, the nature of the primary transcript of intergenic miRNAs is largely unknown. We have performed a large-scale analysis of transcription start sites, polyadenylation signals, CpG islands, EST data, transcription factor-binding sites, and expression ditag data surrounding intergenic miRNAs in the human genome to improve our understanding of the structure of their primary transcripts. We show that a significant fraction of primary transcripts of intergenic miRNAs are 3-4 kb in length, with clearly defined 5' and 3' boundaries. We provide strong evidence for the complete transcript structure of a small number of human miRNAs.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available