miR2GO

miR2GO performs comparative functional analyses of human microRNAs (miRNAs) by evaluating Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment in target gene sets to assess effects of genetic and somatic mutations and interactions between miRNAs.

Key Features:

• miRmut2GO: Knowledge-based evaluation of functional consequences of genetic and somatic mutations within microRNA seed regions via comparison of target gene set annotations.
• miRpair2GO: Comparative functional analysis of two distinct miRNAs through examination and comparison of enriched functional annotations of their respective target gene sets.
• GO enrichment analysis: Uses enriched Gene Ontology annotations covering biological process, molecular function, and cellular component to characterize miRNA target functions.
• Semantic comparison: Employs semantic comparison of enriched GO annotations to quantify functional similarity and differences between target gene sets.
• Target gene set analysis: Analyzes target gene sets for wild-type and mutated alleles or for each miRNA in a pair to infer functional changes or interactions.

Scientific Applications:

• Mutation Impact Analysis: Assess how specific mutations in miRNA seed regions alter predicted target functions and downstream biological processes.
• miRNA Interaction Studies: Infer potential synergistic or antagonistic relationships between miRNA pairs by comparing their enriched target functions.
• Functional Annotation Enrichment: Identify GO terms (BP, MF, CC) enriched in miRNA target sets to inform hypotheses about regulatory roles and pathways.

Methodology:

Enrichment of Gene Ontology (GO) annotations for miRNA target gene sets followed by semantic comparison of enriched GO annotations between wild-type and mutated alleles (miRmut2GO) or between two miRNAs (miRpair2GO).