Methods for distinguishing between protein-coding and long noncoding RNAs and the elusive biological purpose of translation of long noncoding RNAs

摘要: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are a diverse class of with increasingly appreciated functions in vertebrates, yet much their biology remains poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear to what extent the current catalog over 10,000 distinct annotated lncRNAs indeed devoid genes coding for proteins. Here we review available computational and experimental schemes distinguishing between recent genome-wide applications. We conclude that model most consistent data large number mammalian undergo translation, but only very small minority such translation events result stable functional peptides. The outcome majority potential biological purposes remain an intriguing topic future investigation.