ca. acronym meaning

[Platonic]

What does ca. stand for? I think it's referring to the number of nucleotides, but I want to be sure. Here it is in context.

A microRNA (abbr. miRNA) is a small non-coding RNA molecule (ca. 22 nucleotides) found in plants and animals, which functions in transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression

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[ComplexNapoleon]

not 100% on this, but I think it has the same use as saying Circa (commonly abbreviated as ca). Thus, in this situation it means around 22 nucleotides.

 

[gettheleadout]

Yeah, abbreviation for "circa," meaning "around" or "approximately."

http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/latin.html