Long non-coding RNAs and their biological roles in plants

Abstract

With the development of genomics and bioinformatics, especially the extensive applications of high-throughput sequencing technology, more transcriptional units with little or no protein-coding potential have been discovered. Such RNA molecules are called non-protein-coding RNAs (npcRNAs or ncRNAs). Among them, long npcRNAs or ncRNAs (lnpcRNAs or lncRNAs) represent diverse classes of transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides. In recent years, the lncRNAs have been considered as important regulators in many essential biological processes. In plants, although a large number of lncRNA transcripts have been predicted and identified in few species, our current knowledge of their biological functions is still limited. Here, we have summarized recent studies on their identification, characteristics, classification, bioinformatics, resources, and current exploration of their biological functions in plants.

Keywords: Epigenetic; Long non-coding RNA (lncRNA); Long non-coding natural antisense transcripts (lncNATs); MicroRNA; Small RNA; Target mimicry.

Figure 1

The lncRNA-related regulatory networks for phosphate homeostasis in plants A. miR399 can suppress the expression of its target gene, PHOSPHATE2 (PHO2), to control phosphate homeostasis . miR399 is encoded by MIR399 genes, for which primary transcripts are lncRNAs. B. lncRNA IPS1 is induced under phosphate deficiency and acts as a target mimic for miR399 to regulate the phosphate homeostasis . C.Cis-natural antisense RNA, cis-NAT_PHO1;2, can act as a translational enhancer for the expression of its sense gene, PHOSPHATE1;2 (PHO1;2), to control phosphate homeostasis in rice .