Molecular evolution of the rice miR395 gene family.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are 20-22 nucleotide non-coding RNAs that play important roles in plant and animal development. They are usually processed from larger precursors that can form stem-loop structures. Among 20 miRNA families that are conserved between Arabidopsis and rice, the rice miR395 gene family was unique because it was organized into compact clusters that could be transcribed as one single transcript.