Abstract
A broad repertoire of transcription factors and other genes display oscillatory patterns of expression, typically ranging from 30 min to 24 h. These oscillations are associated with a variety of biological processes, including the circadian cycle, somite segmentation, cell cycle, and metabolism. These rhythmic behaviors are often prompted by transcriptional feedback loops in which transcriptional activities are inhibited by their corresponding gene target products. Oscillatory transcriptional patterns have been proposed as a mechanism to drive biological clocks, the molecular machinery that transforms temporal information into accurate spatial patterning during development. Notably, several microRNAs (miRNAs) -small non-coding RNA molecules-have been recently shown to both exhibit rhythmic expression patterns and regulate oscillatory activities. Here, we discuss some of these new findings in the context of the developing retina. We propose that miRNA oscillations are a powerful mechanism to coordinate signaling pathways and gene expression, and that addressing the dynamic interplay between miRNA expression and their target genes could be key for a more complete understanding of many developmental processes.
Highlights
The surge of new techniques to survey the transcriptome over the last few decades has led to the identification of numerous types of non-coding RNAs
First described in Caenorhabditis elegans (Lee et al, 1993), miRNAs are present in a wide diversity of organisms in the bacteria, archaea, and eukaryote domains (Dexheimer and Cochella, 2020)
Among 989 miRNAs tested, this study identified 120 miRNAs that significantly changed the period length in a dosedependent manner, including let-7, miR-17, and the miR183 cluster
Summary
(Lagos-Quintana et al, 2003; Wienholds et al, 2005; Ryan et al, 2006; Arora et al, 2007; Loscher et al, 2007; Xu et al, 2007; Bak et al, 2008; Hackler et al, 2010; Georgi and Reh, 2011; Lumayag et al, 2013; Busskamp et al, 2014; Karali et al, 2016; Fogerty et al, 2019; Fairchild et al, 2021; Fishman et al, 2021) (Lagos-Quintana et al, 2003; Wienholds et al, 2005; Ryan et al, 2006; Arora et al, 2007; Loscher et al, 2007; Xu et al, 2007; Bak et al, 2008; Hackler et al, 2010; Georgi and Reh, 2011; Lumayag et al, 2013; Busskamp et al, 2014; Karali et al, 2016; Fogerty et al, 2019; Fishman et al, 2021)
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