HHMMiR: efficient de novo prediction of microRNAs using hierarchical hidden Markov models

摘要

BackgroundMicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding single-stranded RNAs (20–23 nts) that are known to act as post-transcriptional and translational regulators of gene expression. Although, they were initially overlooked, their role in many important biological processes, such as development, cell differentiation, and cancer has been established in recent times. In spite of their biological significance, the identification of miRNA genes in newly sequenced organisms is still based, to a large degree, on extensive use of evolutionary conservation, which is not always available.