Exploring the hidden hot world of long non-coding RNAs in thermophilic fungus using a robust computational pipeline

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are versatile RNA molecules recently identified as key regulators of gene expression in response to environmental stress. Our primary focus in this study was to develop a robust computational pipeline for identifying structurally identical lncRNAs across replicates from publicly available bulk RNA-seq datasets. In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the pipeline, we utilized the transcriptome of the thermophilic fungus Thermothelomyces thermophilus and assessed the expression pattern of lncRNAs in conjunction with Heat Shock Proteins (HSP), a well-known protein family critical for the cell's response to high temperatures. Our findings demonstrate that the identification of structurally identical transcripts among replicates in this thermophilic fungus ensures the reliability and accuracy of RNA studies, contributing to the validity of biological interpretations. Furthermore, the majority of lncRNAs exhibited a distinct expression pattern compared to HSPs. Our study contributes to advancing the understanding of the biological mechanisms comprising lncRNAs in thermophilic fungi.