Enhanced protein production by microRNA-30 family in CHO cells is mediated by the modulation of the ubiquitin pathway

•We sought to identify critical downstream target genes of the entire miR-30 family in CHO cells.•In silico miRNA target prediction combined to functional clustering revealed three major cellular pathways to be potentially targeted by miR-30.•Functional validation experiments confirmed the ubiquitin pathway to be regulated by miR-30 in CHO.•S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2) was confirmed as direct target gene of miR-30 in CHO cells.•miR-30 mediated knock-down of Skp2 was confirmed on mRNA and protein levels as well as using luciferase reporter assays.•siRNA-mediated specific knock-down of Skp2 could phenocopy miR-30 mediated pro-productive effects in CHO cells and increased cell-specific productivity.