Ponting Chris P, Oliver Peter L, Reik Wolf
MRC Functional Genomics Unit, University of Oxford, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QX, UK.
Cell. 2009 Feb 20;136(4):629-41. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2009.02.006.
RNA is not only a messenger operating between DNA and protein. Transcription of essentially the entire eukaryotic genome generates a myriad of non-protein-coding RNA species that show complex overlapping patterns of expression and regulation. Although long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are among the least well-understood of these transcript species, they cannot all be dismissed as merely transcriptional "noise." Here, we review the evolution of lncRNAs and their roles in transcriptional regulation, epigenetic gene regulation, and disease.
RNA不仅是在DNA和蛋白质之间起作用的信使。真核生物几乎整个基因组的转录会产生无数种非蛋白质编码RNA，它们表现出复杂的重叠表达和调控模式。尽管长链非编码RNA（lncRNA）是这些转录本中了解最少的，但不能将它们全部视为仅仅是转录“噪音”。在这里，我们综述lncRNA的进化及其在转录调控、表观遗传基因调控和疾病中的作用。
