Cancer Biology and Epigenomics Program, Children's Memorial Research Center and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, 2300 Children's Plaza, Chicago, IL, USA.
Bioessays. 2010 Jul;32(7):599-608. doi: 10.1002/bies.200900112.
New DNA sequencing technologies have provided novel insights into eukaryotic genomes, epigenomes, and the transcriptome, including the identification of new non-coding RNA (ncRNA) classes such as promoter-associated RNAs and long RNAs. Moreover, it is now clear that up to 90% of eukaryotic genomes are transcribed, generating an extraordinary range of RNAs with no coding capacity. Taken together, these new discoveries are modifying the status quo in genomic science by demonstrating that the eukaryotic gene pool is divided into two distinct categories of transcripts: protein-coding and non-coding. The function of the majority of ncRNAs produced by the transcriptome is largely unknown; however, it is probable that many are associated with epigenetic mechanisms. The purpose of this review is to describe the most recent discoveries in the ncRNA field that implicate these molecules as key players in the epigenome.
新的 DNA 测序技术为真核生物基因组、表观基因组和转录组提供了新的见解，包括鉴定新的非编码 RNA（ncRNA）类别，如启动子相关 RNA 和长 RNA。此外，现在很清楚，高达 90%的真核生物基因组是转录的，产生了具有无编码能力的非凡范围的 RNA。总的来说，这些新发现通过证明真核生物基因库分为两类不同的转录物：蛋白质编码和非编码，正在改变基因组科学的现状。转录组产生的大多数 ncRNA 的功能在很大程度上是未知的；然而，很可能许多与表观遗传机制有关。本综述的目的是描述 ncRNA 领域的最新发现，这些发现表明这些分子是表观基因组中的关键参与者。
