Boyce Thompson Institute for Plant Research, Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Trends Plant Sci. 2012 Dec;17(12):737-44. doi: 10.1016/j.tplants.2012.08.002. Epub 2012 Sep 13.
Recent advances in transcriptomics and bioinformatics, specifically strand-specific RNA sequencing, have allowed high-throughput, comprehensive detection of low-abundance transcripts typical of the non-coding RNAs studied in bacteria and eukaryotes. Before this, few plastid non-coding RNAs (pncRNAs) had been identified, and even fewer had been investigated for any functional role in gene regulation. Relaxed plastid transcription initiation and termination result in full transcription of both chloroplast DNA strands. Following this, post-transcriptional processing produces a pool of metastable RNA species, including distinct pncRNAs. Here we review pncRNA biogenesis and possible functionality, and speculate that this RNA class may have an underappreciated role in plastid gene regulation.
近年来，转录组学和生物信息学的进展，特别是链特异性 RNA 测序，使得高通量、全面检测细菌和真核生物中非编码 RNA 这类低丰度转录本成为可能。在此之前，已经鉴定出的质体非编码 RNA (pncRNA) 很少，对其在基因调控中的任何功能作用的研究就更少了。松弛的质体转录起始和终止导致两条叶绿体 DNA 链的完全转录。在此之后，转录后加工产生了一组包括不同的 pncRNA 在内的亚稳态 RNA 物种。在这里，我们回顾了 pncRNA 的生物发生和可能的功能，并推测这个 RNA 类可能在质体基因调控中具有被低估的作用。
