title: MicroRNA expression in zebrafish embryonic development.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs, about 21 nucleotides in length, that can regulate gene expression by base-pairing to partially complementary mRNAs. Regulation by miRNAs can play essential roles in embryonic development. We determined the temporal and spatial expression patterns of 115 conserved vertebrate miRNAs in zebrafish embryos by microarrays and by in situ hybridizations, using locked-nucleic acid-modified oligonucleotide probes. Most miRNAs were expressed in a highly tissue-specific manner during segmentation and later stages, but not early in development, which suggests that their role is not in tissue fate establishment but in differentiation or maintenance of tissue identity.
authors.affiliation: Hubrecht Laboratory, Centre for Biomedical Genetics, 3584 CT Utrecht, the Netherlands.
authors.forename: Erno
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wienholds
authors.forename: Wigard P
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Kloosterman
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Miska
authors.forename: Ezequiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Alvarez-Saavedra
authors.forename: Eugene
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Berezikov
authors.forename: Ewart
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Bruijn
authors.forename: H Robert
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Horvitz
authors.forename: Sakari
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kauppinen
authors.forename: Ronald H A
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Plasterk
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000378:metabolism*; D047108:Embryonic Development; D015870:Gene Expression; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005810:Multigene Family; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes; D009928:Organ Specificity; D013997:Time Factors; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D015345:Oligonucleotide Probes