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Journal ArticleDOI

An Extensive Class of Small RNAs in Caenorhabditis elegans

Rosalind C. Lee, +1 more
- 26 Oct 2001 - 
- Vol. 294, Iss: 5543, pp 862-864
TLDR
Using bioinformatics and cDNA cloning, this work found 15 new miRNA genes in C. elegans that express small transcripts that vary in abundance during larval development, and three of them have apparent homologs in mammals and/or insects.
Abstract
The lin-4 and let-7 antisense RNAs are temporal regulators that control the timing of developmental events in Caenorhabditis elegans by inhibiting translation of target mRNAs. let-7 RNA is conserved among bilaterian animals, suggesting that this class of small RNAs [microRNAs (miRNAs)] is evolutionarily ancient. Using bioinformatics and cDNA cloning, we found 15 new miRNA genes in C. elegans. Several of these genes express small transcripts that vary in abundance during C. elegans larval development, and three of them have apparent homologs in mammals and/or insects. Small noncoding RNAs of the miRNA class appear to be numerous and diverse.

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Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI

MicroRNAs: Genomics, Biogenesis, Mechanism, and Function

TL;DR: Although they escaped notice until relatively recently, miRNAs comprise one of the more abundant classes of gene regulatory molecules in multicellular organisms and likely influence the output of many protein-coding genes.
Journal ArticleDOI

MicroRNAs: Target Recognition and Regulatory Functions

TL;DR: The current understanding of miRNA target recognition in animals is outlined and the widespread impact of miRNAs on both the expression and evolution of protein-coding genes is discussed.
Journal ArticleDOI

The functions of animal microRNAs

TL;DR: Evidence is mounting that animal miRNAs are more numerous, and their regulatory impact more pervasive, than was previously suspected.
Journal ArticleDOI

MicroRNA signatures in human cancers

TL;DR: MiRNA-expression profiling of human tumours has identified signatures associated with diagnosis, staging, progression, prognosis and response to treatment and has been exploited to identify miRNA genes that might represent downstream targets of activated oncogenic pathways, or that target protein-coding genes involved in cancer.
Journal Article

MicroRNA signatures in human cancers

TL;DR: The causes of the widespread differential expression of miRNA genes in malignant compared with normal cells can be explained by the location of these genes in cancer-associated genomic regions, by epigenetic mechanisms and by alterations in the miRNA processing machinery as discussed by the authors.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Gapped BLAST and PSI-BLAST: a new generation of protein database search programs.

TL;DR: A new criterion for triggering the extension of word hits, combined with a new heuristic for generating gapped alignments, yields a gapped BLAST program that runs at approximately three times the speed of the original.
Journal ArticleDOI

The C. elegans heterochronic gene lin-4 encodes small RNAs with antisense complementarity to lin-14

TL;DR: Two small lin-4 transcripts of approximately 22 and 61 nt were identified in C. elegans and found to contain sequences complementary to a repeated sequence element in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of lin-14 mRNA, suggesting that lin- 4 regulates lin- 14 translation via an antisense RNA-RNA interaction.
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The 21-nucleotide let-7 RNA regulates developmental timing in Caenorhabditis elegans

TL;DR: It is shown that let-7 is a heterochronic switch gene that encodes a temporally regulated 21-nucleotide RNA that is complementary to elements in the 3′ untranslated regions of the heteroch chronic genes lin-14, lin-28, Lin-41, lin -42 and daf-12, indicating that expression of these genes may be directly controlled by let- 7.
Journal ArticleDOI

Identification of novel genes coding for small expressed RNAs.

TL;DR: It is shown that many 21- and 22-nt expressed RNAs, termed microRNAs, exist in invertebrates and vertebrates and that some of these novel RNAs are highly conserved, which suggests that sequence-specific, posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms mediated by smallRNAs are more general than previously appreciated.
Journal ArticleDOI

Posttranscriptional regulation of the heterochronic gene lin-14 by lin-4 mediates temporal pattern formation in C. elegans

TL;DR: It is demonstrated that a temporal gradient in Lin-14 protein is generated posttranscriptionally by multiple elements in the lin-14 3'UTR that are regulated by the heterochronic gene Lin-4.
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