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Brief Communication

Nature Genetics 38, 1375–1377 (1 December 2006) | doi:10.1038/ng1914

Diversity of microRNAs in human and chimpanzee brain

Eugene Berezikov , Fritz Thuemmler , Linda W van Laake , Ivanela Kondova , Ronald Bontrop , Edwin Cuppen & Ronald H A Plasterk

We used massively parallel sequencing to compare the microRNA (miRNA) content of human and chimpanzee brains, and we identified 447 new miRNA genes. Many of the new miRNAs are not conserved beyond primates, indicating their recent origin, and some miRNAs seem species specific, whereas others are expanded in one species through duplication events.