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RIMap-RISC: A New Interface to Study RNA Biology
Published on April 30, 2026
The team led by François Major, director of IRIC’s RNA Engineering Research Unit, has developed the new RIMap-RISC database, which integrates the molecular structure of microRNAs and messenger RNAs to systematically model their interactions. Led by PhD student Simon Chasles, this work is the subject of a publication in Genome Biology.
MicroRNAs: Gaining a Better Understanding of How They Regulate Gene Expression
Various types of ribonucleic acids (RNA) are found in cells. Messenger RNA acts as an intermediary between the genetic information contained in DNA and protein synthesis. MicroRNAs, on the other hand, are very short molecules that target messenger RNAs to degrade or inhibit them, thereby preventing the translation of certain genes into proteins.
The approach developed by the Major laboratory allows for the integration of detailed structural information about microRNAs, thereby going beyond models based solely on their sequence, to understand how they recognize messenger RNAs and regulate gene expression in both normal and pathological contexts. “This is the first time such modeling has been done systematically,” the researcher notes.
An online tool available to the entire research community
Accessible online, the RIMap-RISC platform offers a programmable interface. It will be useful both for basic research in biology and for the study of complex diseases such as cancer. “Our new tool will promote the reuse of data, its integration into bioinformatics pipelines, and the development of new approaches to research and innovation in RNA biology,” explains François Major.
Cited study
Chasles S, Gaillard-Duchassin Z, Quenneville J, Lemaire M, Gagnon E, Major F. RIMap-RISC: a transcriptome-wide database of structurally modeled human microRNA interactions. Genome Biol. 2026 Feb 26;27(1):112. doi: 10.1186/s13059-026-04008-y
