Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 2, 2025

mirMachine: A One-Stop Shop for Plant miRNA Annotation
Published on: May 1, 2021
A Structural View of miRNA Biogenesis and Function
Ana Lúcia Leitão1, Francisco J Enguita2
1MEtRICs, Department of Sciences and Technology of Biomass, NOVA School of Science and Technology, FCT NOVA, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal.
Abstract:
Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) are a class of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that act as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Since their discovery in 1993, they have been the subject of deep study due to their involvement in many important biological processes. Compared with other ncRNAs, miRNAs are generated from devoted transcriptional units which are processed by a specific set of endonucleases. The contribution of structural biology methods for understanding miRNA biogenesis and function has been essential for the dissection of their roles in cell biology and human disease. In this review, we summarize the application of structural biology for the characterization of the molecular players involved in miRNA biogenesis (processors and effectors), starting from the X-ray crystallography methods to the more recent cryo-electron microscopy protocols.
Related Concept Videos
MicroRNAs
Nucleic Acid Structure
DNA Structure
DNA...
RNA Interference
This process occurs naturally in cells, often through the activity of genomically-encoded microRNAs. Researchers can take advantage of this mechanism by introducing synthetic RNAs to deactivate specific genes for research or therapeutic purposes. For example, RNAi could be used...
siRNA - Small Interfering RNAs
In the cytoplasm, siRNA is processed from a double-stranded RNA, which comes from either endogenous DNA transcription or exogenous sources like a virus. This double-stranded RNA is then cleaved by the...
piRNA - Piwi-interacting RNAs
Regulation of Expression at Multiple Steps

