title: An X chromosome microRNA cluster in the marsupial species Monodelphis domestica.
abstract: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an important class of posttranscriptional gene expression regulators. In the course of mapping novel marsupial-specific miRNAs in the genome of the gray short-tailed opossum, Monodelphis domestica, we encountered a cluster of 39 actual and potential miRNAs spanning 102 kb of the X chromosome. Analysis of the cluster revealed that 37 of the 39 miRNAs are predicted to form thermodynamically stable hairpins, and at least 3 members have been directly cloned from M. domestica tissues. The sequence characteristics of these miRNAs suggest that they all descended from a single common ancestor. Further, 2 distinct families appear to have diversified from the ancestral sequence through different duplication mechanisms: one through a series of simple tandem duplications and the other through a recurrent transposon-mediated duplication process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA. eric-devor@uiowa.edu
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Devor
authors.forename: Lingyan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wise
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Peek
authors.forename: Paul B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Samollow
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002875:Chromosomes; D033481:Chromosomes, Mammalian / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D023061:Gene Order; D008297:Male; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D048309:Monodelphis / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D012098:Reproduction / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014960:X Chromosome / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs