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Updated: Mar 20, 2026

Genome-wide Screen for miRNA Targets Using the MISSION Target ID Library
Published on: April 6, 2012
Why Argonaute is needed to make microRNA target search fast and reliable
Misha Klein1, Stanley D Chandradoss1, Martin Depken1
1Kavli Institute of NanoScience and Department of BioNanoScience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, 2629HZ, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
MicroRNA (miRNA) interferes with the translation of cognate messenger RNA (mRNA) by finding, preferentially binding, and marking it for degradation. To facilitate the search process, Argonaute (Ago) proteins come together with miRNA, forming a dynamic search complex. In this review we use the language of free-energy landscapes to discuss recent single-molecule and high-resolution structural data in the light of theoretical work appropriated from the study of transcription-factor search. We suggest that experimentally observed internal states of the Ago-miRNA search complex may have the explicit biological function of speeding up search while maintaining specificity.
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