MicroRNA-target interactions: new insights from genome-wide approaches

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are key posttranscriptional regulators of gene expression involved in diverse biological pathways in bilateral animals and plants. The key to understanding the biological function of a miRNA is to identify its regulatory targets. Although a few miRNA targets have been identified genetically, the rapidly expanding list of miRNAs has necessitated genome‐wide tools for identifying target mRNAs, and a number of computational and experimental approaches have consequently emerged. Some of these approaches have also provided insights into the mechanistic aspects of miRNA‐mediated regulation, another intensely debated area in the miRNA field. Here, we review several emerging features of miRNA–target interactions in animals and genome‐wide approaches for probing those interactions.