近日,中國科學院北京基因組研究所基因組科學與信息重點實驗室的「百人計劃」研究員章張及其團隊,與沙特阿卜杜拉國王科技大學(King Abdullah University of Science and Technology)開展科研合作,對長非編碼RNA的分類問題進行了系統綜述,相關論文在RNA Biology發表。
長非編碼RNA是近期發現的一大類非編碼RNA(長度普遍大於200nt,故籠統稱之為長非編碼RNA)。其在細胞內普遍轉錄並大量存在,並在多個生命過程中發揮重要作用。
根據目前所得數據,長非編碼RNA缺乏顯著序列特徵,與蛋白編碼RNA及miRNA相比較,其物種間序列保守性較差,嚴重阻礙了大規模生物信息學及功能研究。為促進長非編碼RNA的生物學特徵及生物學意義的研究,研究人員從基因組位置、對DNA序列的影響、功能分類、與靶基因結合特徵等不同方面探討了長非編碼RNA的分類,並研究了不同分類方法之間所存在的聯繫。
長非編碼RNA的準確分類將對某一類特定長非編碼RNA的研究、在不同類別的長非編碼RNA上提出假設及挖掘長非編碼RNA功能等方面提供有力的幫助與借鑑,因而在長非編碼RNA的研究上具有重要意義。(生物谷Bioon.com)
On the classification of long non-coding RNAs.
Ma L, Bajic VB, Zhang Z.
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been found to perform various functions in a wide variety of important biological processes. To make easier interpretation of lncRNA functionality and conduct deep mining on these transcribed sequences, it is convenient to classify lncRNAs into different groups. Here, we summarize classification methods of lncRNAs according to their four major features, namely, genomic location and context, effect exerted on DNA sequences, mechanism of functioning and their targeting mechanism. In combination with the presently available function annotations, we explore potential relationships between different classification categories, and generalize and compare biological features of different lncRNAs within each category. Finally, we present our view on potential further studies. We believe that the classifications of lncRNAs as indicated above are of fundamental importance for lncRNA studies, helpful for further investigation of specific lncRNAs, for formulation of new hypothesis based on different features of lncRNA and for exploration of the underlying lncRNA functional mechanisms.