title: A uniform system for microRNA annotation.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA gene products about 22 nt long that are processed by Dicer from precursors with a characteristic hairpin secondary structure. Guidelines are presented for the identification and annotation of new miRNAs from diverse organisms, particularly so that miRNAs can be reliably distinguished from other RNAs such as small interfering RNAs. We describe specific criteria for the experimental verification of miRNAs, and conventions for naming miRNAs and miRNA genes. Finally, an online clearinghouse for miRNA gene name assignments is provided by the Rfam database of RNA families.
authors.affiliation: Dartmouth Medical School Department of Genetics, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA. vambros@dartmouth.edu
authors.forename: Victor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ambros
authors.forename: Bonnie
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bartel
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Bartel
authors.forename: Christopher B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Burge
authors.forename: James C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Carrington
authors.forename: Xuemei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Gideon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dreyfuss
authors.forename: Sean R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Eddy
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Griffiths-Jones
authors.forename: Mhairi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Marshall
authors.forename: Marjori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matzke
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ruvkun
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tuschl
mesh_terms: D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000145:classification*; D009626:Terminology as Topic
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs