miRNA mapping w/ Novoalign

[quiteconfused]

Hi all,

I am trying to map two mature miRNA sequences to the human genome. My background is not bioinformatics or comp-sci but, having searched the web, I am under the impression I need to use Novoalign or Bowtie.

The problem is that when I get to these websites and read about how to use these programs, my eyes gloss over and I am like

Reading the help guides has not added any clarity.

Can anyone help a non-computer person understand how to use Novoalign? I am using a MacOSx. I am not sure if I need adapter stripping - all I know is that the miRNA I want to map are "mature" sequences from the literature.

[chris]

If all you're after is information on two known miRNAs then you need to go the miRBase website: http://www.mirbase.org

You can search the database by miRNA name or by sequence.

No need for any bioinformatics or compsci