Long Non-Coding RNAs

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last decade, it has been increasingly recognized that long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) can carry out important regulatory functions in organisms in all kingdoms of life. This recognition has fueled intense research with the goal of understanding the biological processes that lncRNAs may control and the mechanisms that they utilize to carry out their functions. In many cases this research has revealed an unexpected level of complexity. In fact, rigorous and scholarly debates over the mechanisms and biological functions of even some of the most widely studied lncRNAs are continuing. Among other complexities, lncRNAs can exhibit conservation of function without apparent conservation of sequence, as well as conserved positions in genomes without apparent conservation of function. The genomes of higher eukaryotes have been documented to express many thousands of lncRNAs, some of which may be newly birthed transcripts that lack a dedicated function, while others may play essential roles in physiology. Identifying those lncRNAs that carry out essential functions and determining their mechanisms of action as well as how their function is specified by their RNA sequence remain unifying goals. This Special Issue invites original research papers and reviews that cover these and all other aspects of the field.

Dr. J. Mauro Calabrese
Guest Editor

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• lncRNAs
• RNA-binding proteins
• RNA/RNA interactions
• RNA/protein interactions
• RNA/genome interactions
• RNA structure; conservation
• RNA turnover
• subcellular localization