TITLE:
Plant Long ncRNAs: A New Frontier for Gene Regulatory Control
AUTHORS:
Jian Zhang, Hana Mujahid, Yuxuan Hou, Babi R. Nallamilli, Zhaohua Peng
KEYWORDS:
Long Non-Coding RNA; Plants, Polycomb Repressing Complex 2; Gene Regulation
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.4 No.5,
May
29,
2013
ABSTRACT: Long
non-coding RNA (lncRNA) refers to an over 200 nt functional RNA
molecule that will not be translated into protein. Previously thought to be
dark matters of the genome, lncRNAs have been gradually recognized as crucial
gene regulators. Although tremendous progress has been made in animals and
human, the study of lncRNAs in plant is still in its infancy. Here, we reviewed
the biogenesis and regulation mechanisms of lncRNAs and summarized the
achievements that have been made in plant lncRNA identification
and functional characterization. Genome-wide identification has uncovered
large amount of lncRNAs in Arabidopsis, Rice, Maize and Wheat, and more
information from other plant species will be expected with the aid of deep
sequencing technologies. Similar to other species, LncRNA-mediated gene regulation
also widely exists in plants, even though only a few functionally characterized
examples are available. Up to now, at least four divergent lncRNA-mediated
regulation mechanisms have been unraveled, including target mimicry,
transcription interference, PRC2 associated histone methylation and DNA
methylation. lncRNAs may be involved in the regulation of
flowering, male sterility, nutrition metabolism, biotic and abiotic stress
response in plants.