Identification of phylogenetically conserved sequence motifs in microRNA 5′ flanking sites from C. elegans and C. briggsae

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, noncoding RNA molecules that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Studies concerning transcriptional regulation of miRNAs have so far concentrated on those located within the intergenic region of the genome and the search for putative promoters, thus leaving open the question of the existence of possible regulatory elements common to all miRNAs including those located in introns of protein coding genes. Results: In this study, we initially searched for motifs occurring in the area 1000 bp upstream from all miRNAs independent of their genomic location. We discovered a previously unknown sequence motif GANNNNGA that displayed a conserved distribution in the nematode worms Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae. This motif had a peak occurrence at 500 bp upstream, with a sharp drop-off toward the miRNA start site. Further analysis indicated that this motif was locally restricted and not enriched 1000-5000 bp upstream or 0-2000 bp downstream of the miRNA start site. In addition, this motif was observed to be most abundant in the upstream sequences of two important miRNAs, mir-1 and mir-124. This abundance was also conserved in phylogenetically distant species including human and mouse. Conclusion: The results show that the motif GANNNNGA is conserved close to miRNA precursor start sites, suggesting that it may be involved in miRNA sequence recognition or regulation. This data provides important knowledge for the identification and computational prediction of miRNA sequences.