A recently published paper provides a review of the platforms available to facilitate the identification of lncRNA function. The review article, which was published in SLAS Technology yesterday, features the technological platforms and methodology presently used to identify the roles of lncRNA in biology.
Prior to sequencing of the human genome, it was presumed that most of the DNA coded for proteins with the rest of the human genome classified as "junk DNA." However, recently these vast stretches of junk DNA have been annotated and discovered to contain thousands of non-coding RNA (ncRNA), including a family of transcripts referred to as long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs).
Although still in its infancy, research into the biology of lncRNAs is demonstrating the importance of lncRNAs in development and disease. LncRNAs are implicated in many biological processes ranging from housekeeping functions such as transcription to more specialized functions such as dosage compensation or genomic imprinting. Furthermore, lncRNAs can regulate varied activities such as messenger RNA degradation, translation and effect protein kinetics or function by acting as RNA decoys or scaffolds.
The methods reviewed in the article include RNA sequencing, RNA interference, CRISPR/Cas9, RNA immunoprecipitation (RIP), crosslinked immunoprecipitation (CLIP), RNA antisense purification (RAP), and chromatin isolation by RNA purification (ChIRP).
Image: Identifying the mechanisms of action and clinical relevance of lncRNAs. Image courtesy of John Lalith Charles Richard and Pieter Johan Adam Eichhorn.