title: Exploration of miRNA families for hypotheses generation.
abstract: Technological improvements have resulted in increased discovery of new microRNAs (miRNAs) and refinement and enrichment of existing miRNA families. miRNA families are important because they suggest a common sequence or structure configuration in sets of genes that hint to a shared function. Exploratory tools to enhance investigation of characteristics of miRNA families and the functions of family-specific miRNA genes are lacking. We have developed, miRNAVISA, a user-friendly web-based tool that allows customized interrogation and comparisons of miRNA families for hypotheses generation, and comparison of per-species chromosomal distribution of miRNA genes in different families. This study illustrates hypothesis generation using miRNAVISA in seven species. Our results unveil a subclass of miRNAs that may be regulated by genomic imprinting, and also suggest that some miRNA families may be species-specific, as well as chromosome- and/or strand-specific.
authors.affiliation: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC), Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Timothy K K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Kamanu
authors.forename: Aleksandar
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Radovanovic
authors.forename: John A C
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Archer
authors.forename: Vladimir B
authors.initials: VB
authors.lastname: Bajic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D035683:MicroRNAs; D005810:Multigene Family; D010944:Plants / Q000235:genetics; D013045:Species Specificity; D064878:Web Browser
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs