title: Evolution and functions of long noncoding RNAs.
abstract: RNA is not only a messenger operating between DNA and protein. Transcription of essentially the entire eukaryotic genome generates a myriad of non-protein-coding RNA species that show complex overlapping patterns of expression and regulation. Although long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are among the least well-understood of these transcript species, they cannot all be dismissed as merely transcriptional "noise." Here, we review the evolution of lncRNAs and their roles in transcriptional regulation, epigenetic gene regulation, and disease.
authors.affiliation: MRC Functional Genomics Unit, University of Oxford, Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QX, UK. chris.ponting@dpag.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Chris P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Ponting
authors.forename: Peter L
authors.initials: PL
authors.lastname: Oliver
authors.forename: Wolf
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Reik
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D022661:RNA, Untranslated