The ins and outs of lncRNA structure: How, why and what comes next?
The field of structural biology has the unique advantage of being able to provide a comprehensive picture of biological mechanisms at the molecular and atomic level. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) represent the new frontier in the molecular biology of complex organisms yet remain the least characterised of all the classes of RNA. Thousands of new lncRNAs are being reported each year yet very little structural data exists for this rapidly expanding field. The length of lncRNAs ranges from 200 nt to over 100 kb in length and they generally exhibit low cellular abundance. Therefore, obtaining sufficient quantities of lncRNA to use for structural analysis is challenging. However, as technologies develop structures of lncRNAs are starting to emerge providing important information regarding their mechanism of action. Here we review the current methods used to determine the structure of lncRNA and lncRNA:protein complexes and describe the significant contribution structural biology has and will make to the field of lncRNA research. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Clues to long noncoding RNA taxonomy1, edited by Dr. Tetsuro Hirose and Dr. Shinichi Nakagawa.
School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia. Electronic address: amanda.blythe@uwa.edu.au.
Amanda J
AJ
Blythe
Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, QEII Medical Centre, Nedlands and Centre for Medical Research, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia.
Archa H
AH
Fox
School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia 6009, Australia. Electronic address: charles.bond@uwa.edu.au.
Charles S
CS
Bond
D006801:Humans; D046912:Multiprotein Complexes / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics
D046912:Multiprotein Complexes; D062085:RNA, Long Noncoding; D012313:RNA
LncRNA; RNA structure; RNA-protein interaction; Structural biology; Structure; non-coding