Conservation of Differential Animal MicroRNA Processing by Drosha and Dicer

In complex biochemical systems, an enzyme, protein, or RNA, symbolized as E, has hundreds or thousands of substrates or interacting partners. The relative specificity hypothesis proposes that such an E would differentially interact with and influence its many distinct, downstream substrates, thereby regulating the underlying biological process (es). The importance of relative specificity has been underappreciated, and evidence of its physiological consequences particularly lacking. Previously we showed that human Drosha and Dicer ribonucleases (RNases) both discriminate their respective microRNA (miRNA) substrates, and that differential cleavage by Drosha contributes to global differential miRNA expression. If relative specificity is an important biological mechanism, it should be evolutionarily conserved. To test this hypothesis, we hereby examined the cleavage of hundreds of zebrafish and fruitfly miRNA intermediates by Drosha and Dicer and the impact on miRNA biogenesis in these organisms. We showed that Drosha action regulates differential miRNA expression in zebrafish and fruitflies and identified the conserved secondary structure features and sequences in miRNA transcripts that control Drosha activity and miRNA expression. Our results established the conservation of miRNA processing mechanisms and regulatory functions by Drosha and Dicer, greatly strengthened the evidence for the physiological consequences of relative specificity as well as demonstrated its evolutionary significance.