Paper Published in Genome Research: Maize RNA Secondary Structures

Our paper “Diverse patterns of secondary structure across genes and transposable elements are associated with siRNA production and epigenetic fate” was published as open-access in Genome Research.

The Discovery

We discovered novel miRNA-like secondary structures in maize (Zea mays) genes and transposable elements that correlate with small RNA production, DNA methylation patterns, and gene expression levels.

Key Findings

• RNA structures strongly associated with siRNA production
• Structures explain up to 27% of variation in siRNA production across transposable element families
• Discovered new class of tiny RNAs in maize genes with regulatory potential

Media Coverage

• ACCESS-CI: “An a-MAIZE-ingly Surprising Discovery”
• San Diego Supercomputer Center: Major computational biology achievement

This work represents years of computational analysis using San Diego Supercomputer Center and Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center resources.