Life without A tail: new formats of long noncoding RNAs

While most long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) appear indistinguishable from mRNAs, having 5' cap structures and 3' poly(A) tails, recent work has revealed new formats. Rather than taking advantage of the canonical cleavage and polyadenylation for their 3' end maturation, such lncRNAs are processed and stablized by a number of other mechanisms, including the RNase P cleavage to generate a mature 3' end, or capped by snoRNP complexes at both ends, or by forming circular structures. Importantly, such lncRNAs have also been implicated in gene expression regulation in mammalian cells. Here, we highlight recent progress in our understanding of the biogenesis and function of lncRNAs without a poly(A) tail. This paper is part of a directed issue entitled: The Non-coding RNA Revolution.