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The evolutionary origin of plant and animal microRNAs

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 1, Article number: 0027 (2017) Cite this article

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Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a unique class of short endogenous RNAs, which have become known in the past few decades as major players in gene regulation at the post-transcriptional level. Their regulatory roles make miRNAs crucial for normal development and physiology in several distinct groups of eukaryotes including plants and animals. The common notion is that miRNAs have evolved independently in those distinct lineages, but recent evidence from non-bilaterian metazoans, plants, and various algae raise the possibility that the last common ancestor of these lineages might already have employed an miRNA pathway for post-transcriptional regulation. In this Review we present the commonalities and differences of the miRNA pathways in various eukaryotes and discuss the contrasting scenarios of their possible evolutionary origin and their proposed link to organismal complexity and multicellularity.

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Figure 1: Differences between miRNAs and siRNAs.
Figure 2: Phylogenetic tree of the major eukaryotic groups showing presence of miRNA systems.
Figure 3: Scheme describing the plant and animal canonical miRNA biogenesis pathways.
Figure 4: Schematic comparison of miRNA network topology in land plants and bilaterian animals.
Figure 5: A possible scenario of miRNA evolution in plants and animals where their last common ancestor possessed an miRNA system.

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Acknowledgements

Small RNA research in the Moran lab is supported by a European Research Council Starting Grant (CNIDARIAMICRORNA, 637456) and a Young Investigator Grant by the German–Israeli Foundation for Scientific Research and Development (I-1058-203.7-2013). Research in the Technau group is supported by grants of the Austrian Research Fund FWF (P24858 and P22618).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel

    Yehu Moran & Maayan Agron

  2. Department of Molecular Evolution and Development, Centre of Organismal Systems Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, Vienna, 1090, Austria

    Daniela Praher & Ulrich Technau

Authors
  1. Yehu Moran
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  2. Maayan Agron
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  3. Daniela Praher
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  4. Ulrich Technau
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Contributions

Y.M. and U.T. conceived the manuscript, Y.M., M.A., D.P. and U.T. wrote the paper.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yehu Moran or Ulrich Technau.

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Moran, Y., Agron, M., Praher, D. et al. The evolutionary origin of plant and animal microRNAs. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 0027 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-016-0027

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