It is now clear that eukaryotic cells produce many thousands of non-coding RNAs. The least well-studied of these are longer than 200 nt and are known as lncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs). These loci are of particular interest as their biological relevance remains uncertain. Sequencing projects have identified thousands of these loci in a variety of species, from flies to humans. Genome-wide scans for functionality, such as evolutionary and expression analyses, suggest that many of these molecules have functional roles to play in the cell. Nevertheless, only a handful of lncRNAs have been experimentally investigated, and most of these appear to possess roles in regulating gene expression at a variety of different levels. Several lncRNAs have also been implicated in cancer. This evidence suggests that lncRNAs represent a new class of non-coding gene whose importance should become clearer upon further experimental investigation.
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May 2013
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Review Article|
April 30 2013
Identification and function of long non-coding RNAs
Robert S. Young;
Robert S. Young
1
*MRC Human Genetics Unit, Western General Hospital, Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, U.K.
1Correspondence can be addressed to either author (email robert.young@igmm.ed.ac.uk or chris.ponting@dpag.ox.ac.uk).
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Chris P. Ponting
Chris P. Ponting
1
†MRC Functional Genomics Unit, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PT, U.K.
1Correspondence can be addressed to either author (email robert.young@igmm.ed.ac.uk or chris.ponting@dpag.ox.ac.uk).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Online ISSN: 1744-1358
Print ISSN: 0071-1365
© The Authors Journal compilation © 2013 Biochemical Society
2013
Essays Biochem (2013) 54: 113–126.
Citation
Mark A. Lindsay, Sam Griffiths-Jones, Robert S. Young, Chris P. Ponting; Identification and function of long non-coding RNAs. Essays Biochem 3 May 2013; 54 113–126. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/bse0540113
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