title: Guidelines for the functional annotation of microRNAs using the Gene Ontology.
abstract: MicroRNA regulation of developmental and cellular processes is a relatively new field of study, and the available research data have not been organized to enable its inclusion in pathway and network analysis tools. The association of gene products with terms from the Gene Ontology is an effective method to analyze functional data, but until recently there has been no substantial effort dedicated to applying Gene Ontology terms to microRNAs. Consequently, when performing functional analysis of microRNA data sets, researchers have had to rely instead on the functional annotations associated with the genes encoding microRNA targets. In consultation with experts in the field of microRNA research, we have created comprehensive recommendations for the Gene Ontology curation of microRNAs. This curation manual will enable provision of a high-quality, reliable set of functional annotations for the advancement of microRNA research. Here we describe the key aspects of the work, including development of the Gene Ontology to represent this data, standards for describing the data, and guidelines to support curators making these annotations. The full microRNA curation guidelines are available on the GO Consortium wiki (http://wiki.geneontology.org/index.php/MicroRNA_GO_annotation_manual).
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cardiovascular Genetics, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London WC1E 6JF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Rachael P
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6718-3559
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Huntley
authors.affiliation: The Jackson Laboratory, Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, USA.
authors.forename: Dmitry
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5283-5283
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sitnikov
authors.affiliation: Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Toronto, Ontario, M5G0A3, Canada.
authors.forename: Marija
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3218-5631
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Orlic-Milacic
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Stanford University, MC-5477 Stanford, California 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Rama
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2468-9933
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Balakrishnan
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, NYU School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: D'Eustachio
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, St. John's University, Queens, New York 11439, USA.
authors.forename: Marc E
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5766-1702
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Gillespie
authors.affiliation: Zebrafish Model Organism Database, 5291 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon 97403-5291, USA.
authors.forename: Doug
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5831-7439
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Howe
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cardiovascular Genetics, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London WC1E 6JF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anastasia Z
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5775-3984
authors.initials: AZ
authors.lastname: Kalea
authors.affiliation: Karolinska Institute, Department of Medicine, Center for Molecular Medicine (CMM) L8:03, Stockholm 17176, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lars
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5228-2634
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maegdefessel
authors.affiliation: European Molecular Biology Laboratory, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton CB10 1SD, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: David
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7073-9172
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Osumi-Sutherland
authors.affiliation: Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, USA.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5540-8498
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Petri
authors.affiliation: Human and Molecular Genetics Center, Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Physiology, Medical College of Wisconsin Department of Surgery, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53226, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1706-4196
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Van Auken
authors.affiliation: Cambridge Systems Biology and Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Sanger Building, Cambridge CB2 1GA, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6330-7526
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: King's British Heart Foundation Centre, King's College London, London SE5 9NU, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zampetaki
authors.affiliation: King's British Heart Foundation Centre, King's College London, London SE5 9NU, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0597-829X
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mayr
authors.affiliation: Centre for Cardiovascular Genetics, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London WC1E 6JF, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Ruth C
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9791-0064
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Lovering
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020868:Gene Silencing; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D035683:MicroRNAs
keywords: GO; analysis; annotation; biocuration; function; microRNA