Figure 4.
A-to-I edited miRNAs show predicted increased stability than their unedited forms. (A) The minimum free energy (MFE) for edited (“G” containing) and unedited (“A” containing) pre-miRNA was obtained using RNA fold. ΔΔG was calculated by subtracting MFE of unedited miRNA from edited miRNA. Negative value of ΔΔG means more stable edited forms. 55% (33/60) sites showed an increase in stability (ΔΔG < zero), 24 out of the 33 sites showed a value less than −6 Kcal/mole. (B) The motif for sequence preference in the pre-miRNA fold-back structure is analysed. For all the miRNAs that gained stability upon editing (ΔΔG < −6.0 Kcal/mole) the edited adenosines were found to have mis-paired cytosines on the pre-miRNA hairpin structure.