MiRFinder: an improved approach and software implementation for genome-wide fast microRNA precursor scans

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recognized as one of the most important families of noncoding RNAs that serve as important sequence-specific post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression. Identification of miRNAs is an important requirement for understanding the mechanisms of post-transcriptional regulation. Hundreds of miRNAs have been identified by direct cloning and computational approaches in several species. However, there are still many miRNAs that remain to be identified due to lack of either sequence features or robust algorithms to efficiently identify them. Results: We have evaluated features valuable for pre-miRNA prediction, such as the local secondary structure differences of the stem region of miRNA and non-miRNA hairpins. We have also established correlations between different types of mutations and the secondary structures of pre-miRNAs. Utilizing these features and combining some improvements of the current premiRNA prediction methods, we implemented a computa...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2007
• Where: BMCBI
• Authors: Ting-Hua Huang, Bin Fan, Max F. Rothschild, Zhi-Liang Hu, Kui Li, Shu-Hong Zhao
• Keywords: BMCBI 2007, Pre-mirna Predictions, Secondary Structures, Tool