Turnover and Function of Noncoding RNA Polymerase II Transcripts

Abstract

In the past few years, especially since the discovery of RNA interference (RNAi), our understanding of the role of RNA ingene expression has undergone a significant transformation. This change has been brought about by growing evidence thatRNA is more complex and transcription more promiscuous than has previously been thought. Many of the new transcriptsare of so-called noncoding RNA (ncRNA); i.e., RNA that does not code for proteins such as mRNA, or intrinsic parts of thecellular machinery such as the highly structured RNA components of ribosomes (rRNA) and the small nuclear RNA (snRNA)components of the splicing machinery. It is becoming increasingly apparent that ncRNAs have very important roles in geneexpression. This paper focuses on work from our laboratory in which we have investigated the roles and turnover of ncRNAlocated within the gene pre-mRNA, which we refer to as intragenic ncRNA. Also discussed are some investigations ofintergenic ncRNA transcription and how these two classes of ncRNA may interrelate.