the miRNA can target a gene in two different species with different affinity depending on the seed sequence base pairing. and at the end this prediction has to be confirmed by qRT-PCR .

I agree with Duaa. It is very difficult to argue that results will be the same in both species based solely on the homology.

best,

You should test in different sp. And targetscan just gives you possibli

Hi Maryam -

So, a few things, which I'm sure you've considered. First the notion of "same genes". Even if you found homologous genes which were predicted targets in human (which I don't recommend other than to satisfy your curiosity), you'd probably want/need to show similar function (I'm assuming your eventual goal involves finding out what biological functions are being targeted). I believe most reviewers will question the use of human targets without (as was stated above) qRT-PCR. Even with experimental evidence, you'd need to identify the 3'UTR binding sites in mouse; down-regulation of targets might happen for any number of reasons other than microRNAs. Finally, there might be evolutionary arguments made that the 3'UTRs - and consequently binding sites - have changed over time. See my paper with Neda Jabbari, Figure 4 caption.

Good Luck,

Chris

Dear all

Many thanks for your great comments.

Best, Maryam