University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
University of Toronto, Donnelly Ctr, CCBR 160 College St, Toronto, ON M5S 3E1, Canada.
Trends Genet. 2017 Oct;33(10):665-676. doi: 10.1016/j.tig.2017.08.002. Epub 2017 Sep 1.
The past decade has seen a major increase in the study of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs). However, there remains a great deal of confusion and debate over the levels of functionality and mechanisms of action of the majority of these new transcripts. This Opinion article addresses several of these issues, focusing particularly on long ncRNAs (lncRNAs). We reemphasize the unique abilities of RNAs to form myriad structures as well as to interact with other RNAs, DNA, and proteins, which provide them with unique and powerful abilities. One of these, the ability to interact sequence specifically with DNA, has been largely overlooked. Accumulating evidence suggests that evolution has taken advantage of RNA's properties via the rapid acquisition of new noncoding genes in testes, with subsequent gains of function in other tissues. This amplification process appears to be one of the major forces driving metazoan evolution and diversity.
过去十年中，非编码 RNA（ncRNA）的研究取得了重大进展。然而，对于这些新转录本的大多数功能水平和作用机制仍然存在很大的混淆和争议。本文观点解决了其中的几个问题，特别关注长非编码 RNA（lncRNA）。我们再次强调了 RNA 形成无数结构以及与其他 RNA、DNA 和蛋白质相互作用的独特能力，这为它们提供了独特而强大的能力。其中之一是与 DNA 特异性相互作用的能力，这在很大程度上被忽视了。越来越多的证据表明，进化通过在睾丸中快速获得新的非编码基因，随后在其他组织中获得功能，从而利用了 RNA 的特性。这种扩增过程似乎是驱动后生动物进化和多样性的主要力量之一。
