Abstract

MicroRNAs constitute a large family of small, approximately 21-nucleotide-long, non-coding RNAs that have emerged as key post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression in metazoans and plants. In mammals, microRNAs are predicted to control the activity of approximately 30% of all protein-coding genes, and have been shown to participate in the regulation of almost every cellular process investigated so far. By base pairing to mRNAs, microRNAs mediate translational repression or mRNA degradation. This Review summarizes the current understanding of the mechanistic aspects of microRNA-induced repression of translation and discusses some of the controversies regarding different modes of microRNA function.

Author affiliations

1. Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research, 4002 Basel, Switzerland.
2. Department of Biochemistry and McGill Cancer Center, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G 1Y6.

Correspondence to: Witold Filipowicz¹ Email: witold.filipowicz@fmi.ch

Correspondence to: Nahum Sonenberg² Email: nahum.sonenberg@mcgill.ca

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