Functional profiling of long intergenic non-coding RNAs in fission yeast

Area of Science:

• Genetics
• Molecular Biology
• Systems Biology

Background:

• Eukaryotic genomes produce long intergenic non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) with largely unknown functions.
• The contribution of lincRNAs to genotype-phenotype information flow remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically analyze the cellular roles and functions of lincRNAs in *Schizosaccharomyces pombe*.
• To determine the extent to which lincRNAs contribute to phenotype under various conditions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to delete 141 lincRNA genes.
• Employed high-throughput colony-based assays for growth and viability under 145 diverse conditions.
• Conducted high-throughput microscopy and flow cytometry for cell-size and cell-cycle analysis.

Main Results:

• Phenotypes were identified for 59.6% of lincRNA deletion mutants.
• 37% of tested lincRNAs were linked to cell-size and/or cell-cycle control.
• Overexpression of 90.3% of tested lincRNAs altered growth under specific conditions.

Conclusions:

• The majority of analyzed lincRNAs exert cellular functions in specific environmental or physiological contexts.
• These findings provide a foundation for further investigation into lincRNA roles.
• lincRNAs significantly contribute to the genotype-phenotype relationship.