An efficient fluorescent method for selective detection of mature miRNA species

Methods for specific detection of RNA molecules have been widely developed in biotechnology and diagnostic field. The diagnostic target is recently expanded to non-coding RNA, including microRNAs (miRNAs). miRNAs are initially synthesized as precursor, and then processed to their physiologically active species, miRNAs. Detection of only the active mature miRNA without interference of the precursor forms is extremely important for their functional and physiological significance. We developed a novel fluorescent DNA probe to detect the mature miRNA with high specificity. Since the probe discriminates the mature miRNA from the precursor without electrophoretic separation, it should be useful for real-time detection of the mature miRNAs.