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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

In ovo Expression of MicroRNA in Ventral Chick Midbrain
Published on: September 16, 2013
Simultaneous expansions of microRNAs and protein-coding genes by gene/genome duplications in early vertebrates
1Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Center for Bioinformatics and Biological Statistics, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 50011, USA. xgu@iastate.edu
Abstract:
Does miRNAs underlie the origin of organismal complexity in vertebrates? The current controversy is focused on whether the inventory of vertebrate miRNAs can be explained by the classical two-round genome duplications. We estimate the age distribution of vertebrate miRNA duplication events, showing the evolutionary scenario that gene/genome duplications in the early stage of vertebrates may expand the protein-encoding genes and miRNAs simultaneously. We further speculate that genetically lying behind the evolution of vertebrate complexity may be the proteome doubling and alterations of the epigenetic (including miRNA) machinery.
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