Alternative processing of primary microRNA transcripts by Drosha generates 5' end variation of mature microRNA.

• Main Authors: Haoquan Wu, Chunting Ye, Danielle Ramirez, N Manjunath
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2009-10-01
• Series: PLoS ONE
• Online Access: http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC2762519?pdf=render

It is generally believed that the miRNA processing machinery ensures the generation of a mature miRNA with a fixed sequence, particularly at its 5' end. However, we and others have recently noted that the ends of a given mature miRNA are not absolutely fixed, but subject to variation. Neither the significance nor the mechanism behind the generation of such miRNA polymorphism is understood. miR-142 is an abundantly expressed miRNA in hematopoietic cells and exhibits a high frequency of 5' end polymorphism.Here we show that a shift in the Drosha processing of pri-miRNA generates multiple forms of miR-142s in vivo with differing 5' ends that might target different genes. Sequence analysis of several pre-miRNA ends cloned from T cells reveals that unlike many other pri-miRNAs that are processed into a single pre-miRNA, pri-miR-142 is processed into 3 distinct pre-miR-142s. Dicer processing studies suggest that each of the 3 pre-miR-142s is processed into a distinct double-stranded miRNA, giving rise to 4 mature miRNA variants that might regulate different target gene pools.Thus, alternative Drosha processing might be a novel mechanism for diversification of the miRNA target gene pool.