MicroRNA Expression in Zebrafish Embryonic Development

Erno Wienholds(University of Copenhagen), Wigard P. Kloosterman(University of Copenhagen), Eric A. Miska(University of Copenhagen), Ezequiel Alvarez-Saavedra(University of Copenhagen), Eugène Berezikov(University of Copenhagen), Ewart de Bruijn(University of Copenhagen), H. Robert Horvitz(University of Copenhagen), Sakari Kauppinen(University of Copenhagen), Ronald H.A. Plasterk(University of Copenhagen)
Science
May 26, 2005
10.1126/science.1114519
Cited by 1,552

Abstract

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs, about 21 nucleotides in length, that can regulate gene expression by base-pairing to partially complementary mRNAs. Regulation by miRNAs can play essential roles in embryonic development. We determined the temporal and spatial expression patterns of 115 conserved vertebrate miRNAs in zebrafish embryos by microarrays and by in situ hybridizations, using locked-nucleic acid-modified oligonucleotide probes. Most miRNAs were expressed in a highly tissue-specific manner during segmentation and later stages, but not early in development, which suggests that their role is not in tissue fate establishment but in differentiation or maintenance of tissue identity.

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