Regulation
of maternal miRNAs in early embryos revealed December
17th,
2014
Wispy
identified as the enzyme responsible for miRNA adenylation in flies
The
Center for RNA Research at the Institute for Basic Science (IBS) has
succeeded in revealing, for the first time, the mechanism of how
miRNAs, which control gene expression, are regulated in the early
embryonic stage.
The
IBS researchers have verified that maternally inherited miRNAs are
highly adenylated at their ends in mature oocytes and early embryos.
This maternal miRNA adenylation is extensively conserved in fly, sea
urchin and mouse. The researchers have also identified that the
enzyme called ‘Wispy’ is required to catalyze miRNA adenylation
and to reduce miRNA abundance.
“This
is the first discovery of an unusual mechanism that can explain how
maternal miRNAs are regulated,” explains Professor V. Narry Kim,
both the director of the Center for RNA Research at IBS and the
professor of the School of Biological Sciences at the Seoul National
University. She elucidates the meaning of the research results as “A
clue to help unveil the important biological phenomenon that takes
place in the early development stages of the embryo, which has not
been explored until now.”
###
Notes
for editors
Mihye
Lee, Yeon Choi, Kijun Kim, Hua Jin, Jaechul Lim, Tuan Anh Nguyen,
Jihye Yang, Minsun Jeong, Antonio J. Giraldez, Hui Yang, Dinshaw J.
Patel, and V. Narry Kim (2014). Adenylation of Maternally Inherited
MicroRNAs by Wispy. Molecular Cell, published online
(http://www.cell.com/molecular-cell/abstract/S1097-2765%2814%2900795-3)
For
further information or to request media assistance, please contact:
Ms. Mi Joo Sung, School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National
University(+82-2-887-2343; mjsung@snu.ac.kr)
or Mr. Han Bin Oh, Overseas Public Relations Officer, IBS Public
Relations Team (+82-42-878-8182; ohanvin@ibs.re.kr)
About
Institute for Basic Science (IBS) The IBS was founded in 2011 by
the government of the Republic of Korea. With the sole purpose of
driving forward the development of basic science in Korea, IBS will
be comprised of a total of 50 research centers in all fields of
basic science, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, life
science, earth science and interdisciplinary science. IBS has
launched 21 research centers as of October 2014.
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