Prediction and characterization of microRNAs from eleven fish species by computational methods

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of single-stranded RNA molecules about 22 nt in length, which can regulate protein-coding gene expression in various organisms by post-transcriptional repression of messenger. In this research, the potential miRNAs and their target genes were analyzed and predicted by computational methods from the EST and GSS databases of eleven fish species, 43 potential miRNAs were identified, they belong to 38 miRNA families, some miRNAs are highly conserved in animal kingdom, the predicted target genes are involved in development, signal transduction, response to environmental stress and pathogen invasion. Taken together, our data suggest that there are a plentiful of miRNAs in these eleven fish species, these miRNAs may play some important roles by regulating their target genes, and the data provide important information for further functional studies.