RNA Seq analysis of unchecked miR-998 expression in Drosophila melanogaster 3rd instar larval eye discs
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ABSTRACT: The importance of the role of microRNAs in gene expression and disease is well recognized. However, what is less appreciated is that almost half of miRNA genes are organized in polycistronic clusters and are therefore co-expressed. The mir-11~998 cluster consists of two miRNAs, miR-11 and miR-998. Here, we describe a novel layer of regulation that links the processing and expression of miR-998 to the presence of the mir-11 gene. We show that the presence of mir-11 in the pri-miRNA is required for processing by Drosha, and deletion of mir-11 prevents the expression of miR-998. Replacing mir-11 with an unrelated miRNA rescued miR-998 expression in vivo and in vitro, as did expressing miR-998 from a shorter, more canonical miRNA scaffold. The embedded regulation of miR-998 is functionally important because unchecked miR-998 expression in the absence of miR-11 resulted in highly penetrant pleiotropic developmental defects. We further show that this novel regulation of expression of miRNAs within a cluster is not limited to the mir-11~998 cluster and likely reflects the more general cis-regulation of expression of individual miRNAs. Thus, our results reveal a novel layer of regulation within miRNA clusters that tempers the functions of the individual miRNAs. Unlinking their expression has the potential to change the expression of multiple miRNA targets and shift biological response.
ORGANISM(S): Drosophila melanogaster
PROVIDER: GSE73946 | GEO | 2015/11/15
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA298583
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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