Journal
GENES & DEVELOPMENT
Volume 23, Issue 16, Pages 1831-1842Publisher
COLD SPRING HARBOR LAB PRESS, PUBLICATIONS DEPT
DOI: 10.1101/gad.1811209
Keywords
X-chromosome inactivation; chromatin modifier; dosage compensation; epigenetic regulation; noncoding RNA
Categories
Funding
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute Funding Source: Medline
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Transcriptome studies are revealing that the eukaryotic genome actively transcribes a diverse repertoire of large noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs), many of which are un-annotated and distinct from the small RNAs that have garnered much attention in recent years. Why are they so pervasive, and do they have a function? X-chromosome inactivation (XCI) is a classic epigenetic phenomenon associated with many large ncRNAs. Here, I provide a perspective on how XCI is achieved in mice and suggest how this knowledge can be applied to the rest of the genome. Emerging data indicate that long ncRNAs can function as guides and tethers, and may be the molecules of choice for epigenetic regulation: First, unlike proteins and small RNAs, large ncRNAs remain tethered to the site of transcription, and can therefore uniquely direct allelic regulation. Second, ncRNAs command a much larger sequence space than proteins, and can therefore achieve very precise spatiotemporal control of development. These properties imply that long noncoding transcripts may ultimately rival small RNAs and proteins in their versatility as epigenetic regulators, particularly for locus- and allele-specific control.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available