Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Microexons, ≤ 51-nucleotide (nt), particularly ultra-short ones (1-15 nt), are challenging to identify due to their small size and frequent absence in genome annotations, which limits understanding of their biological roles. Using our developed pipeline, we identified 2398 small internal microexons across 10 diverse plant species, and most of them were not annotated in the reference genomes. These microexons are grouped into 45 conserved microexon clusters based on microexon-tags, which include the coding microexons and portions of flanking exon sequences. Leveraging these clusters, we developed a predictive method that identified 20 224 microexons across 132 plant genomes. For these microexons, we developed the Database of MicroExons in Plants (MEPDB), which includes genomic coordinates, sequences (nucleotide/amino acid), gene annotations, and updated CDS information for microexon annotations, as well as an integrated tool for RNA-seq-independent microexon prediction, thereby offering a comprehensive resource for plant microexon research.
Source: New Phytologist
DOI: 10.1111/nph.70456
Authors: Yakub Islamov, Huihui Yu, Hongfeng Yu, Chi Zhang
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $5,790
Awards: G5442259418, G8980359643
OpenAlex ID: W4413257545