Recognition of the pre-miRNA structure by Drosophila Dicer-1

Abstract
It has been unclear how fly Dicer-1 exclusively recognizes pre-miRNAs. New analyses show that fly Dicer-1 recognizes the single-stranded terminal loop structure of pre-miRNAs through its N-terminal helicase domain, checks the loop size and measures the distance between the 3′ overhang and the terminal loop. This unique mechanism allows fly Dicer-1 to inspect the authenticity of pre-miRNA structures.