Short RNAs Show A Long History: MicroRNAs Found In Animals That Appeared A Billion Years Ago

MicroRNAs, the tiny molecules that fine-tune gene expression, were first discovered in 1993. But it turns out they've been around for a billion years. MicroRNAs and piRNAs, two classes of small RNAs that regulate genes, have been discovered within diverse animal lineages, implying that they have been present since the ancestor of all animals (about a billion years ago).They may have been shaping gene expression throughout the evolution of animals, contributing to the emergence of new species and perhaps even the emergence of multicellular animal life.

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