ame-mir-71: ame-mir-71 is a microRNA located within intron 3 of GB15727, a serine/threonine phosphatase lost from Drosophila, but with orthologs in vertebrates and more ancient metazoans [PMC2394756]. It has been found to have higher expression in developing workers compared to queens and in worker thoraces [PMC2394756]. In worker abdomens, ame-mir-71 is more strongly expressed compared to ame-mir-9a, C3345, and C5152 [PMC2394756]. This expression pattern is also observed in bees [PMC2394756]. During the pupal stage, the expression level of ame-mir-71 is higher in workers relative to queens [PMC4444961]. The 3' terminal sugar ring of piRNAs contains a modification to either the 2' or 3' hydroxyl group, while ame-mir-71 does not contain such a modification [PMC5452642]. Real-time RT-PCR was used to analyze the expression levels of various miRNAs including ame-mir-71 during pupation and pre-pupation stages [PMC4156658]. It was found that ame-mir-71 was strongly upregulated during pupation and its predicted target contig was strongly downregulated during pre-pupation [PMC4156658].