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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Microinjection of Zebrafish Embryos to Analyze Gene Function
Published on: March 9, 2009
MicroRNA: fine-tunes the function of genes in zebrafish
1Department of Cell and Neurobiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1333 San Pablo Street, BMT-403, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA. sying@usc.edu
Abstract:
MicroRNAs (miRNAs), 18-25 nt single-stranded RNAs, act as regulators in fine-tuning gene function. The absence of miRNAs is not life-threatening in early embryonic development of Dicer-knockout zebrafish and mice, which may account for genetic expression of various traits as a result of miRNA complexity in higher animals during natural evolution. The Pol-II-mediated intronic miRNA is a useful tool to validate the function of computer-predicated miRNAs in zebrafish and mice.

