Entamoeba histolytica: computational identification of putative microRNA candidates

MicroRNAs are an abundant class of approximately 20-24-nucleotide noncoding RNAs that control the expression of several genes at the post-transcriptional level, regulating several important biochemical pathways. MicroRNAs have been identified in many vertebrates including humans, and also in flies, nematodes, plants, and viruses. In the present work we have identified seventeen putative candidate microRNAs in the pathogenic parasite Entamoeba histolytica using a bioinformatic approach. Putative microRNA identification in E. histolytica may act as a starting reference for cloning and characterization of miRNAs in Entamoeba genome.