title: Canalization of development by microRNAs.
abstract: Animal development is an extremely robust process resulting in stereotyped outcomes. Canalization is a design principle wherein developmental pathways are stabilized to increase phenotypic reproducibility. Recent revelations into microRNA (miRNA) function suggest that miRNAs act as key players in canalizing genetic programs. We suggest that miRNA interactions with the network of protein-coding genes evolved to buffer stochastic perturbations and thereby confer robustness to developmental genetic programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel. eran.hornstein@weizmann.ac.il
authors.forename: Eran
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hornstein
authors.forename: Noam
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shomron
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D010641:Phenotype; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs; D012333:RNA, Messenger