Paper Info
Title
In silico identification of conserved microRNAs and their target transcripts from expressed sequence tags of three earthworm species.
Abstract
MicroRNAs are a recently identified class of small regulatory RNAs that target more than 30% protein-coding genes. Elevating evidence shows that miRNAs play a critical role in many biological processes, including developmental timing, tissue differentiation, and response to chemical exposure. In this study, we applied a computational approach to analyze expressed sequence tags, and identified 32 miRNAs belonging to 22 miRNA families, in three earthworm species Eisenia fetida, Eisenia andrei, and Lumbricus rubellus. These newly identified earthworm miRNAs possess a difference of 2–4 nucleotides from their homologous counterparts in Caenorhabditis elegans. They also share similar features with other known animal miRNAs, for instance, the nucleotide U being dominant in both mature and pre-miRNA sequences, particularly in the first position of mature miRNA sequences at the 5′ end. The newly identified earthworm miRNAs putatively regulate mRNA genes that are involved in many important biological processes and pathways related to development, growth, locomotion, and reproduction as well as response to stresses, particularly oxidative stress. Future efforts will focus on experimental validation of their presence and target mRNA genes to further elucidate their biological functions in earthworms.
Year
DOI
Venue
2010
10.1016/j.compbiolchem.2010.09.004
Computational Biology and Chemistry
Keywords
Field
DocType
MicroRNA,Expressed sequence tag (EST),Earthworm,Algorithm,Target prediction,Gene ontology,KEGG pathway
Eisenia fetida,Lumbricus rubellus,Gene,Expressed sequence tag,Biology,microRNA,Caenorhabditis elegans,Eisenia andrei,Bioinformatics,Genetics,In silico
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
34
5
1476-9271
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
10
Authors
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Ping Gong1443.45
Fuliang Xie261.10
Baohong Zhang3213.45
Edward J. Perkins422520.46