Vella Monica C, Choi Eun-Young, Lin Shin-Yi, Reinert Kristy, Slack Frank J
Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Genes Dev. 2004 Jan 15;18(2):132-7. doi: 10.1101/gad.1165404. Epub 2004 Jan 16.
Caenorhabditis elegans let-7, a founding member of the microRNA family, is predicted to bind to six sites in the 3'UTR of the mRNA of its target gene, lin-41, to down-regulate LIN-41. Here, we demonstrate that wild-type let-7 microRNA binds in vitro to RNA from the lin-41 3'UTR. This interaction is dependent on two conserved let-7 complementary sites (LCSs). A 27-nucleotide sequence between the LCSs is also necessary for down-regulation in vivo. LCS mutations compensatory to the lesion in let-7(n2853) can partially restore lin-41 3'UTR function in a let-7(n2853) background, providing the first experimental evidence for an animal miRNA binding directly to its validated target in vivo.
秀丽隐杆线虫的let-7是微小RNA家族的创始成员,预计可与靶基因lin-41的mRNA的3'非翻译区中的六个位点结合,从而下调LIN-41。在此,我们证明野生型let-7微小RNA在体外与lin-41 3'非翻译区的RNA结合。这种相互作用依赖于两个保守的let-7互补位点(LCS)。LCS之间的一个27个核苷酸的序列对于体内下调也是必需的。与let-7(n2853)中的损伤互补的LCS突变可以在let-7(n2853)背景中部分恢复lin-41 3'非翻译区的功能,为动物微小RNA在体内直接与其经过验证的靶标结合提供了首个实验证据。