An exploration of evolution, maturation, expression and function relationships in mir-23∼27∼24 cluster

Abstract

The study aims to explore the potential relationships of evolution, maturation, expression and function between homologous/clustered miRNAs. mir-23∼27∼24 gene cluster, including the two gene clusters (mir-23a and mir-23b) and the three miRNA gene families (mir-23, mir-27 and mir-24), was typically selected as an example. These related miRNAs show similar evolutionary patterns and various expression patterns. Most of them show consistent isomiR expression pattern, and the "switching" phenomenon can be found between different abundant isomiR species. These findings suggest that these sequence or location related miRNAs show the similar miRNA processing and maturation processes, and the robust selection of the most dominant isomiR exists in specific tissues. Functional analysis show that these miRNAs show similar distributions of enriched gene categories, suggesting the close functional prelateships via direct or indirect coordinate regulation in biological processes. The study reveals the close evolutionary, expression and functional relationships between related homologous/clustered miRNAs, which will further enrich miRNA studies and understand direct or indirect interactions between miRNAs. © 2014 Liang et al.