NCBI Summary:
microRNAs (miRNAs) are short (20-24 nt) non-coding RNAs that are involved in post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression in multicellular organisms by affecting both the stability and translation of mRNAs. miRNAs are transcribed by RNA polymerase II as part of capped and polyadenylated primary transcripts (pri-miRNAs) that can be either protein-coding or non-coding. The primary transcript is cleaved by the Drosha ribonuclease III enzyme to produce an approximately 70-nt stem-loop precursor miRNA (pre-miRNA), which is further cleaved by the cytoplasmic Dicer ribonuclease to generate the mature miRNA and antisense miRNA star (miRNA*) products. The mature miRNA is incorporated into a RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), which recognizes target mRNAs through imperfect base pairing with the miRNA and most commonly results in translational inhibition or destabilization of the target mRNA. The RefSeq represents the predicted microRNA stem-loop. [provided by RefSeq, Sep 2009]
General function
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Cellular localization
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Ovarian function
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Expression regulated by
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Ovarian localization
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MicroRNA transcriptome in the newborn mouse ovaries determined by massive parallel sequencing. Ahn HW et al. (2010) Small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs), are involved in diverse biological processes including organ development and tissue differentiation. Global disruption of miRNA biogenesis in Dicer knockout mice disrupts early embryogenesis and primordial germ cell formation. However, the role of miRNAs in early folliculogenesis is poorly understood. In order to identify a full transcriptome set of small RNAs expressed in the newborn (NB) ovary, we extracted small RNA fraction from mouse NB ovary tissues and subjected it to massive parallel sequencing using the Genome Analyzer from Illumina. Massive sequencing produced 4 655 992 reads of 33 bp each representing a total of 154 Mbp of sequence data. The Pash alignment algorithm mapped 50.13% of the reads to the mouse genome. Sequence reads were clustered based on overlapping mapping coordinates and intersected with known miRNAs, small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), piwi-interacting RNA (piRNA) clusters and repetitive genomic regions; 25.2% of the reads mapped to known miRNAs, 25.5% to genomic repeats, 3.5% to piRNAs and 0.18% to snoRNAs. Three hundred and ninety-eight known miRNA species were among the sequenced small RNAs, and 118 isomiR sequences that are not in the miRBase database. Let-7 family was the most abundantly expressed miRNA, and mmu-mir-672, mmu-mir-322, mmu-mir-503 and mmu-mir-465 families are the most abundant X-linked miRNA detected. X-linked mmu-mir-503, mmu-mir-672 and mmu-mir-465 family showed preferential expression in testes and ovaries. We also identified four novel miRNAs that are preferentially expressed in gonads. Gonadal selective miRNAs may play important roles in ovarian development, folliculogenesis and female fertility.//////////////////
One miRNA, mmu-mir-1981, was initially classified as a novel miRNA but was recently identified in mouse ES cells (Babiarz et al., 2008). mmu-mir-1981 expression was confined to the gonads (Fig. 3A).
Follicle stages
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Mouse ES cells express endogenous shRNAs, siRNAs, and other Microprocessor-independent, Dicer-dependent small RNAs. Babiarz JE et al. (2008) Canonical microRNAs (miRNAs) require two processing steps: the first by the Microprocessor, a complex of DGCR8 and Drosha, and the second by a complex of TRBP and Dicer. dgcr8Delta/Delta mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) have less severe phenotypes than dicer1Delta/Delta mESCs, suggesting a physiological role for Microprocessor-independent, Dicer-dependent small RNAs. To identify these small RNAs with unusual biogenesis, we performed high-throughput sequencing from wild-type, dgcr8Delta/Delta, and dicer1Delta/Delta mESCs. Several of the resulting DGCR8-independent, Dicer-dependent RNAs were noncanonical miRNAs. These derived from mirtrons and a newly identified subclass of miRNA precursors, which appears to be the endogenous counterpart of shRNAs. Our analyses also revealed endogenous siRNAs resulting from Dicer cleavage of long hairpins, the vast majority of which originated from one genomic locus with tandem, inverted short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs). Our results extend the known diversity of mammalian small RNA-generating pathways and show that mammalian siRNAs exist in cell types other than oocytes.//////////////////