miRNAs originate from primary transcripts (pri-miRNAs) with characteristic stem-loop structures. Accurate processing of pri-miRNAs is required for functional miRNAs. Here, using pri-miR166 family as a paradigm, we report the decisive role of pri-miRNA terminal loops in miRNA biogenesis. We found that multi-branched terminal loops in pri-miR166s substantially suppressed miR166 expression in vivo. Unlike canonical processing of pri-miRNAs, terminal-loop-branched (TLBed) pri-miRNAs can be processed by Dicer-like1 (DCL1) complexes bi-directionally: from base to loop and from loop to base, resulting in productive and abortive processing of miRNAs, respectively. In either case, DCL1 complexes canonically cut pri-miRNAs at a distance of 16-17 base pairs (bp) from a reference single-stranded loop region. DCL1 also adjusts processing sites toward an internal loop through its helicase domain. Thus, these results provide new insight into the poorly understood processing mechanism of pri-miRNAs with complicated secondary structures.

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2016): Abraham model ion-specific equation coefficients for the 1-butyl-2,3-dimethyimidazolium and 4-cyano-1-butylpyridinium cations calculated from measured gas-to-liquid partition coefficient data, Physics and Chemistry of Liquids, ABSTRACT Partition coefficient and gas solubility data have been assembled from the published chemical and engineering literature for solutes dissolved in anhydrous 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium dicyanamide, 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, and 4-cyano-1-butylpyrridinium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. More than 60 experimental data points were gathered for each IL solvent. The compiled experimental data were used to derive Abraham model correlations for describing the solute transfer properties into the three anhydrous IL solvents from both the gas phase and water. The derived mathematical correlations described the observed solute transfer properties, expressed as the logarithm of the water-to-IL partition coefficient and logarithm of the gas-to-IL solvent partition coefficient, to within standard deviations of 0.125 log units (or less). Abraham model ion-specific equation coefficients are also calculated for the 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium and 4-cyano-1-butylpyridinium cations. ARTICLE HISTORY