Scientists develop a new method to understand what and where the DROSHA protein is cutting
Each cell of our body is the result of an orchestra of sophisticated mechanisms that control which genes are and are not expressed at any given time. Partly, this is possible thanks to the coordination of several types of RNA molecules, like microRNAs (miRNAs). Researchers at the Center for RNA Research, within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), developed a new technique called fCLIP-seq that analyzes the miRNA fragments created by the RNA-cleaving protein DROSHA. Several processes are regulated by DROSHA, such as neuronal development, bone marrow formation, and inhibition of RNA-viruses. Therefore, it is expected that this study will open up new pathways to understand the role of DROSHA in such important biological phenomena. The full description of the findings is available in Molecular Cell.