MicroRNAs are thought to repress mRNA targets through perfect pairing with their seed region, but a sizeable number of miRNA interaction sites are orphans, without a perfect canonical miRNA partner. Now a large number of miRNAs are found to use an alternative binding mode that involves the bulging out of an unpaired mRNA nucleotide, leading to a functional mRNA-miRNA interaction.
- Sung Wook Chi
- Gregory J Hannon
- Robert B Darnell
