Microprotein

A microprotein is a small protein encoded from small open reading frame. They are a class of protein with a single protein domain that are related to multidomain proteins. Microproteins regulate larger multidomain proteins at the post-translational level. Microproteins are analogous to microRNAs and heterodimerize with their targets causing dominant and negative effects. In animals and plants, microproteins have been found to greatly influence the biological processes. Because of microproteins' dominant effects on their targets, microproteins are currently being studied for potential applications in biotechnology.