Abstract: The present invention generally relates to microRNAs such as vertebrate microRNA (miRNA), for example, mammalian miRNA. Various aspects of the invention are directed to the detection, production, or expression of miRNA. In one aspect, the invention provides systems and methods for identifying targets of miRNA sequences. For instance, in one embodiment, gene sequences comprising UTRs are compared with miRNA sequences to determine the degree of interaction, for example, by determining a free energy measurement between the miRNA sequence and the UTR, and/or by determining complementarity between at least a portion of the miRNA sequence and the UTR. In another aspect, the invention is directed to the regulation of gene expression using miRNA. For example, gene expression within a cell may be altered by exposing the cell to an oligonucleotide comprising a sequence that is substantially antisense to at least a portion of an miRNA region of the gene, for example, antisense to a 6-mer or 7-mer portion of the miRNA.

Abstract: Computational methods identify alternate splice forms of known gene transcripts and isoforms that are subject to NMD (nonsense-mediated decay). These methods were used to identify thousands of human genes that generate alternative splice forms, and to demonstrate that about a third of these are subject to NMD. This high prevalence of NMD-targeted transcripts indicates a systemic way of regulating gene expression—by shunting gene expression to nonproductive splice variants. This endemic regulation is exploited to engineer regulation of gene expression, to characterize splice pathway components and to assay splice environments, for example, using NMD-regulated reporter genes.

Abstract: Computational methods identify alternate splice forms of known gene transcripts and isoforms that are subject to NMD (nonsense-mediated decay). These methods were used to identify thousands of human genes that generate alternative splice forms, and to demonstrate that about a third of these are subject to NMD. This high prevalence of NMD-targeted transcripts indicates a systemic way of regulating gene expression—by shunting gene expression to nonproductive splice variants. This endemic regulation is exploited to engineer regulation of gene expression, to characterize splice pathway components and to assay splice environments, for example, using NMD-regulated reporter genes.