title: Incredible RNA: Dual Functions of Coding and Noncoding.
abstract: Since the RNA world hypothesis was proposed, a large number of regulatory noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been identified in many species, ranging from microorganisms to mammals. During the characterization of these newly discovered RNAs, RNAs having both coding and noncoding functions were discovered, and these were considered bifunctional RNAs. The recent use of computational and high-throughput experimental approaches has revealed increasing evidence of various sources of bifunctional RNAs, such as protein-coding mRNAs with a noncoding isoform and long ncRNAs bearing a small open reading frame. Therefore, the genomic diversity of Janus-faced RNA molecules that have dual characteristics of coding and noncoding indicates that the functional roles of RNAs have to be revisited in cells on a genome-wide scale. Such studies would allow us to further understand the complex gene-regulatory network in cells. In this review, we discuss three major genomic sources of bifunctional RNAs and present a handful of examples of bifunctional RNA along with their functional roles.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea.|Research Institute for Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Wu
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea.
authors.forename: Seo-Won
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, College of Natural Sciences, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea.
authors.forename: Bo-Hyun
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: You
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods; D014644:Genetic Variation; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D059368:RNA Isoforms / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D059368:RNA Isoforms; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D022661:RNA, Untranslated
keywords: bifunctional RNA; lncRNA; sORF