Perfect seed pairing is not a generally reliable predictor for miRNA-target interactions.
We use Caenorhabditis elegans to test proposed general rules for microRNA (miRNA)-target interactions. We show that G.U base pairing is tolerated in the 'seed' region of the lsy-6 miRNA interaction with its in vivo target cog-1, and that 6- to 8-base-pair perfect seed pairing is not a generally reliable predictor for an interaction of lsy-6 with a 3' untranslated region (UTR). Rather, lsy-6 can functionally interact with its target site only in specific 3' UTR contexts. Our findings illustrate the difficulty of establishing generalizable rules of miRNA-target interactions.
Didiano
Dominic
D
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University Medical Center, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 701 W. 168th Street, New York, New York 10032, USA.
Hobert
Oliver
O
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D020029:Base Pairing / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000166:cytology; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data
D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D035683:MicroRNAs