Transcriptome-wide analysis of small RNA expression in early zebrafish development

摘要

The authors utilized next-generation sequencing to analyze small noncoding RNA expression patterns during different stages of early zebrafish development. Their main focus is on miRNAs and piRNAs. This work defines the expression patterns for 198 miRNAs during early vertebrate development and also shows significant 3′ end variation that suggests a novel form of targeted degradation. Their analysis also resulted in the identification of eight new miRNAs, as well as the existence of tRNA-derived small RNAs in zebrafish. Finally, the authors identify a large set of piRNAs during early development.