Genome-wide prediction of microRNAs in Zika virus genomes reveals possible interactions with human genes involved in the nervous system development

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a member of the family Flaviviridae. In 2015, ZIKV triggered a large epidemic in Brazil and spread across Latin America. In November of that year, the Brazilian Ministry of Health reported a 20-fold increase in cases of neonatal microcephaly, which corresponds geographically and temporally to the ZIKV outbreak. ZIKV was isolated from the brain tissue of a fetus diagnosed with microcephaly, and recent studies in mice models revealed that ZIKV infection may cause brain defects by influencing brain cell developments. Unfortunately, the mechanisms by which ZIKV alters neurophysiological development remain unknown. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNAs that regulate pos