title: Advances in analyzing RNA diversity in eukaryotic transcriptomes: peering through the Omics lens.
abstract: Alternative splicing, polyadenylation, and chemical modifications of RNA generate astonishing complexity within eukaryotic transcriptomes. The last decade has brought numerous advances in sequencing technologies that allow biologists to investigate these phenomena with greater depth and accuracy while reducing time and cost. A commensurate development in biochemical techniques for the enrichment and analysis of different RNA variants has accompanied the advancement of global sequencing analysis platforms. Here, we present a detailed overview of the latest biochemical methods, along with bioinformatics pipelines that have aided in identifying different RNA variants. We also highlight the ongoing developments and challenges associated with RNA variant detection and quantification, including sample heterogeneity and isolation, as well as 'Omics' big data handling.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Sushant
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bangru
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA; Institute of Genomic Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA; College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Auinash
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-1011-0006
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalsotra
keywords: Alternative splicing; RNA variants; computational pipelines; mRNA modifications; next generation sequencing; post-transcriptional gene regulation