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MiRLog and dbmiR: Prioritization and functional annotation tools to study human microRNA sequence variants
Author(s) -
Giovannetti Agnese,
Bianco Salvatore Daniele,
Traversa Alice,
Panzironi Noemi,
Bruselles Alessandro,
Lazzari Sara,
Liorni Niccolò,
Tartaglia Marco,
Carella Massimo,
Pizzuti Antonio,
Mazza Tommaso,
Caputo Viviana
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
human mutation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.981
H-Index - 162
eISSN - 1098-1004
pISSN - 1059-7794
DOI - 10.1002/humu.24399
Subject(s) - biology , computational biology , microrna , genetics , human genome , phenotype , annotation , genome , human genetics , gene
The recent identification of noncoding variants with pathogenic effects suggests that these variations could underlie a significant number of undiagnosed cases. Several computational methods have been developed to predict the functional impact of noncoding variants, but they exhibit only partial concordance and are not integrated with functional annotation resources, making the interpretation of these variants still challenging. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA molecules that act as fine regulators of gene expression and play crucial functions in several biological processes, such as cell proliferation and differentiation. An increasing number of studies demonstrate a significant impact of miRNA single nucleotide variants (SNVs) both in Mendelian diseases and complex traits. To predict the functional effect of miRNA SNVs, we implemented a new meta‐predictor, MiRLog, and we integrated it into a comprehensive database, dbmiR, which includes a precompiled list of all possible miRNA allelic SNVs, providing their biological annotations at nucleotide and miRNA levels. MiRLog and dbmiR were used to explore the genetic variability of miRNAs in 15,708 human genomes included in the gnomAD project, finding several ultra‐rare SNVs with a potentially deleterious effect on miRNA biogenesis and function representing putative contributors to human phenotypes.