%0 Journal Article %T The Fate of miRNA* Strand through Evolutionary Analysis: Implication for Degradation As Merely Carrier Strand or Potential Regulatory Molecule? %A Li Guo %A Zuhong Lu %J PLOS ONE %D 2012 %I Public Library of Science (PLoS) %R 10.1371/journal.pone.0011387 %X During typical microRNA (miRNA) biogenesis, one strand of a ~22 nt RNA duplex is preferentially selected for entry into a silencing complex, whereas the other strand, known as the passenger strand or miRNA* strand, is degraded. Recently, some miRNA* sequences were reported as guide miRNAs with abundant expression. Here, we intended to discover evolutionary implication of the fate of miRNA* strand by analyzing miRNA/miRNA* sequences across vertebrates. %U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0011387