ABSTRACT
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia. a Email: s.asgari@uq.edu.au b Email: m.hussein1@uq.edu.au *Corresponding author
The biological community has witnessed the fascinating expanding world of microRNAs (miRNAs) during the last decade. The knowledge created from miRNA research has now established the fact that nearly all cellular pathways from development to oncogenesis are regulated directly or indirectly by miRNAs in almost all eukaryotic organisms. More than half of all human protein coding genes are under the control of miRNA regulation. Our understanding of their biogenesis and functionality is building up and it has been realized that they are produced and act in several different ways, but still there are many unknowns and mechanisms yet to be discovered. Recent investigations on the discovery of miRNAs in several species of insects have opened up new vistas of studying insect life from miRNA perspectives (Chawla and Sokol 2011, Bellés et al. 2012 Asgari 2013, Lucas and Raikhel 2013). In this chapter, we discuss recent research fi ndings on miRNA biogenesis and evolution in general and their role in aspects of insect biology. However, in several sections, relevant examples from non-insect models are mentioned, which are useful in comparative understanding of miRNA biogenesis and function.
