Mir 281 microRNA precursor family

In molecular biology mir-281 microRNA is a short RNA molecule. MicroRNAs function to regulate the expression levels of other genes by several mechanisms. mir-281 is found in an intron of the Drosophila ornithine decarboxylase antizyme (ODA) gene. Using the RACE technique the pri-miRNA was shown to be 2,149 nucleotides in length. The expression level of the microRNA was found to be independent of the level of ODA. miR-281 is also found in the silkworm.