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Updated: Jun 6, 2026

mirMachine: A One-Stop Shop for Plant miRNA Annotation
Published on: May 1, 2021
miRNA*: a passenger stranded in RNA-induced silencing complex?
S M Mah1, C Buske, R K Humphries
1Terry Fox Laboratory, BC Cancer Agency, Vancouver, BC, Canada, V5Z 1L3.
Abstract:
Processing of the pre-microRNA (pre-miRNA) through Dicer1 generates a miRNA duplex, consisting of a miRNA and miRNA* strand (also termed guide strand and passenger strand, respectively). Despite the general consensus that miRNA*s have no regulatory activity, recent publications have provided evidence that the abundance, possible function, and physiological relevance of miRNA*s have been underestimated. This review provides an account of our current understanding of miRNA* origination and activity, mounting evidence for their unique functions and regulatory mechanisms, and examples of specific miRNA*s from the literature.
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