MicroRNAs Are Key Genomic Regulators
By Biotechdaily staff writers
Posted on 26 Jan 2005
A recently published paper has revealed that as much as 30% of the human genome may be regulated by microRNAs, RNA fragments of 18 to 25 nucleotides that bind to mRNA molecules and interfere with protein synthesis.Posted on 26 Jan 2005
Investigators at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Boston, USA) capitalized on the most up-to-date genome-sequencing data to compare the human genome to that of the dog, chicken, mouse, and rat and correlate correspondence between microRNAs and protein-encoding genes in the different species.
They reported in the January 14, 2005, issue of Cell that the nucleotide sequence of regulatory microRNAs has been conserved for at least 310 million years. MicroRNAs were found to have direct regulatory effects on more than 5,300 human genes, which comprise 30% of the genome.
"It is exciting to see how many genes are regulated by microRNAs. We now know that this type of gene control is much more widespread than previously appreciated,” said senior author Dr. David Bartel, professor of biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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