Multiple RNA recognition patterns during microRNA biogenesis in plants

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) derive from longer precursors with fold-back structures. While animal miRNA precursors have homogenous structures, plant precursors comprise a collection of fold-backs with variable size and shape. Here, we design an approach to systematically analyze miRNA processing intermediate...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Bologna, Nicolas Gerardo, Schapire, Arnaldo Luis, Zhai, Jixian, Chorostecki, Uciel Pablo, Boisbouvier, Jerome, Meyers, Blake C., Palatnik, Javier Fernando
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2013
País:Argentina
Institución:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositorio:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/4838
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/4838
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:BIOGENESIS
MicroRNAs
Plants
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descripción
Sumario:MicroRNAs (miRNAs) derive from longer precursors with fold-back structures. While animal miRNA precursors have homogenous structures, plant precursors comprise a collection of fold-backs with variable size and shape. Here, we design an approach to systematically analyze miRNA processing intermediates and characterize the biogenesis of most of the evolutionarily conserved miRNAs present in Arabidopsis thaliana. We found that plant miRNAs are processed by four mechanisms, depending on the sequential direction of the processing machinery and the number of cuts required to release the miRNA. Classification of the precursors according to their processing mechanism revealed specific structural determinants for each group. We found that the complexity of the miRNA processing pathways occurs in both ancient and evolutionarily young sequences and that members of the same family can be processed in different ways. We observed that different structural determinants compete for the processing machinery and that alternative miRNAs can be generated from a single precursor. The results provide an explanation for the structural diversity of miRNA precursors in plants and new insights toward the understanding of the biogenesis of small RNAs.