Non-coding RNAs: could they be the answer?

Abstract

Despite a considerable amount of effort by different groups to evaluate the genetic traits associated with complex diseases by genome-wide association studies (GWAS), just a few regions, mainly linked to protein-coding genes, were identified. Recently, studies from different groups have implicated new classes of long non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) to important molecular mechanisms. Additionally, high-throughput transcriptome analyses of different cell types have shown that an unexpected amount of genomic DNA is transcribed. I am writing to propose that the majority of the regions that do not clearly correspond to a 'gene' controlling certain traits might be ncRNAs or other regulatory transcripts that are still unknown. These regions will need to be carefully examined in the future.