Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 17, 2026
07:23
Dual CRISPR-Interference Strategy for Targeting Synthetic Lethal Interactions Between Non-Coding RNAs in Cancer Cells
Published on: May 30, 2025
Evolutionary conservation and functional roles of ncRNA
1School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Frontiers in Genetics
|October 23, 2012
Summary
Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), once dismissed as "junk," are now recognized as vital regulators in biology and cancer. This review explores their genomic organization, conservation, and diverse functions.
Area of Science:
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) were historically considered transcriptional noise.
- Recent evidence reveals pervasive transcription and evolutionary conservation of ncRNAs.
- ncRNAs play critical roles in biological processes and cancer development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To summarize the functional significance of ncRNAs.
- To discuss ncRNAs in terms of genomic organization and evolutionary conservation.
- To categorize the broad functional classes of ncRNAs.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and synthesis of existing research on ncRNAs.
- Analysis of genomic organization and evolutionary conservation data for ncRNAs.
- Classification of ncRNAs based on their diverse biological functions.
Main Results:
- ncRNAs are extensively transcribed across genomes.
- Many ncRNAs exhibit significant evolutionary conservation, indicating functional importance.
- ncRNAs are implicated in a wide spectrum of biological regulation and tumorigenesis.
Conclusions:
- ncRNAs represent a crucial layer of gene regulation.
- Understanding ncRNAs is essential for comprehending complex biological systems and diseases like cancer.
- Further research into ncRNA functions will uncover new therapeutic targets.
Related Concept Videos
02:51Multi-species Conserved Sequences
Next-generation sequencing technologies have created large genomic databases of a variety of animals and plants. Ever since the human genome project was completed, scientists studied the genome of primates, mammals, and other phylogenetically distant living beings. Such large-scale studies have provided new insights into the evolutionary relationship between organisms.
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved DNA...
Although the genome of each species varies greatly from each other, a few sequences are highly conserved. Such conserved DNA...
02:53CRISPR and crRNAs
Bacteria and archaea are susceptible to viral infections just like eukaryotes; therefore, they have developed a unique adaptive immune system to protect themselves. Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated proteins (CRISPR-Cas) are present in more than 45% of known bacteria and 90% of known archaea.
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...
The CRISPR-Cas system stores a copy of foreign DNA in the host genome and uses it to identify the foreign DNA upon reinfection. CRISPR-Cas has three different...
02:39lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs
In humans, more than 80% of the genome gets transcribed. However, only around 2% of the genome codes for proteins. The remaining part produces non-coding RNAs which includes ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, telomerase RNAs, and regulatory RNAs, among other types. A large number of regulatory non-coding RNAs have been classified into two groups depending upon their length – small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA, which are less than 200 nucleotides in length, and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)...
02:39lncRNA - Long Non-coding RNAs
In humans, more than 80% of the genome gets transcribed. However, only around 2% of the genome codes for proteins. The remaining part produces non-coding RNAs which includes ribosomal RNAs, transfer RNAs, telomerase RNAs, and regulatory RNAs, among other types. A large number of regulatory non-coding RNAs have been classified into two groups depending upon their length – small non-coding RNAs, such as microRNA, which are less than 200 nucleotides in length, and long non-coding RNA (lncRNA)...
01:53Bacterial Transcription
RNA polymerase (RNAP) carries out DNA-dependent RNA synthesis in both bacteria and eukaryotes. Bacteria do not have a membrane-bound nucleus. So, transcription and translation occur simultaneously, on the same DNA template.
Transcription can be divided into three main stages, each involving distinct DNA sequences to guide the polymerase. These are:
Transcription can be divided into three main stages, each involving distinct DNA sequences to guide the polymerase. These are:
00:43Bacterial RNA Polymerase
Unlike eukaryotes, bacteria use a single RNA Polymerase (RNAP) to transcribe all genes. The different subunits of bacterial RNAPhave distinct functions. The multisubunit structure of the bacterial RNAP helps the enzyme to maintain catalytic function, facilitate assembly, interact with DNA and RNA, and self-regulate its activity.
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...