Long Non-coding RNAs: New Players in Cell Differentiation and Development

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Genet

Specialty Genetics

Date 2013 Dec 4

PMID 24296535

Citations 1628

Authors

Alessandro Fatica

Irene Bozzoni

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Genomes of multicellular organisms are characterized by the pervasive expression of different types of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Long ncRNAs (lncRNAs) belong to a novel heterogeneous class of ncRNAs that includes thousands of different species. lncRNAs have crucial roles in gene expression control during both developmental and differentiation processes, and the number of lncRNA species increases in genomes of developmentally complex organisms, which highlights the importance of RNA-based levels of control in the evolution of multicellular organisms. In this Review, we describe the function of lncRNAs in developmental processes, such as in dosage compensation, genomic imprinting, cell differentiation and organogenesis, with a particular emphasis on mammalian development.

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