miRBase: the microRNA database

MicroRNA是在所有动物和植物细胞中发现的微小RNA序列。它们的作用是调节基因组中其他基因的蛋白质产生-例如，预测人类基因组中的2500个已知microRNA调节20000-25000个人类基因中的约三分之二。MicroRNA已被证明在细胞中的基本上所有功能中以及在大量疾病（包括癌症和神经退行性疾病）中是重要的。MicroRNA直到2001年才被发现如此广泛。miRBase数据库很快就建立起来，用于在发现microRNA时对其进行分类，并为microRNA社区提供一系列服务。例如，miRBase为新发现的microRNA命名，以确保相同的microRNA在不同的出版物中使用相同的名称。miRBase也是一个中心资源，可以从中检索最新的microRNA集，以及它们在基因组中的位置，发现它们的方法，描述它们的科学出版物，以及包含相关信息的其他数据库的链接。这些功能帮助microRNA领域以惊人的速度增长。仅在2013年，就有8400篇关于microRNA的科学出版物。miRBase目前包含223个物种的35828个microRNA条目。miRBase基本上被世界上每一个microRNA研究人员使用。这些用户包括研究microRNA在疾病和其他细胞过程中的作用的人，也包括制作试剂盒和资源的公司，以允许实验生物学家检测和操纵microRNA。miRBase网站每月有大约40000-50000名不同的用户使用，miRBase已在8000多份科学出版物中被提及。根据本提案将开展的工作将确保miRBase数据库的基本功能持续可用。它还将为下一阶段的资源开发提供资金。特别是，我们将开发网络工具，使microRNA研究人员能够访问和使用通过所谓的深度测序方法产生的大量microRNA数据。我们还将扩展数据库，以包括有关由microRNA调控的基因的信息，这些信息同样来自深度测序数据。

MicroRNAs are tiny RNA sequences that are found in the cells of all animals and plants. Their role is to regulate the production of proteins from other genes in the genome - it is predicted that the 2500 known microRNAs in the human genome regulate around two thirds of the 20000-25000 human genes, for example. MicroRNAs have been shown to be important in essentially all functions in the cell and in a large number of diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders. MicroRNAs were only discovered to be so widespread in 2001. The miRBase database was established soon after to catalog microRNAs as they are discovered, and to provide a range of services to the microRNA community. For example, miRBase assigns names to new microRNA discoveries, to ensure that the same microRNA is referred to by the same name in different publications. miRBase also acts as the central resource from which the most up-to-date set of microRNAs can always be retrieved, together with their locations in the genome, the methods by which they were found, the scientific publications that describe them, and links to other databases that contain related information. These functions have helped the microRNA field to grow at a tremendous rate. In 2013 alone, there were 8400 scientific publications about microRNAs. miRBase currently contains entries on 35828 microRNAs in 223 species.miRBase is used by essentially every microRNA researcher in the world. These users include those who study the roles of microRNAs in disease and other cellular processes, but also companies who make kits and resources to allow experimental biologists to detect and manipulate microRNAs. The miRBase website is used by around 40000-50000 different users each month, and miRBase has been mentioned in over 8000 scientific publications.The work that will be carried out under this proposal will ensure the continued availability of the essential functions of the miRBase database. It will also provide for the next phase of development of the resource. In particular, we will develop web tools that allow microRNA researchers to access and use the huge quantities of microRNA data that are being produced by so-called deep sequencing methods. We will also expand the database to include information about the genes that are regulated by microRNAs, again from deep sequencing data.