A computational screen for C/D box snoRNAs in the human genomic region associated with Prader-Willi and Angelman syndromes

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) play a significant role in Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) and Angelman Syndrome (AS), which are genomic disorders resulting from deletions in the human chromosomal region 15q11–q13. To identify snoRNAs in the region, our computational study employs key motif features of C/D box snoRNAs and introduces a complementary RNA–RNA hybridization test. We identify three previously unknown methylation guide snoRNAs targeting ribosomal 18S and 28S RNAs, and two snoRNAs targeting serotonin receptor 2C mRNA. We show that the three snoRNA candidates likely possess methylation strands complementary to, and form stable complexes with, human ribosomal RNAs. Our screen also identifies 8 other snoRNA candidates that do not pass the rRNA-complementarity and/or hybridization tests. Two of these candidates have extensive sequence similarity to HBII-52, a snoRNA that regulates the alternative splicing of serotonin receptor 2C mRNA. Six out of our eleven candidate snoRNAs are also predicted by other existing methods.