"Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNA molecules that do not encode proteins, which led to their dismissal by many scientists as unimportant as it relates to DNA processes. For years, laboratories lacked the tools to study these molecules, and their roles in cellular processes remained obscure. However, the new study demonstrates that lncRNAs are far from inert, said Jhumku Kohtz, PhD, research professor in the Ken and Ruth Davee Department of Neurology's Divison of Comprehensive Neurology and senior author of the study."
""When I began this work, long non-coding RNAs were considered non-functional products of 'junk' DNA, or 'dark matter,'" Kohtz said. "This report is an extension of our work over the last two decades on Evf2, an lncRNA that regulates gene expression and brain development." In the current study, scientists analyzed Evf2 during brain development in mouse embryos. Using single-cell transcriptomics, investigators found that Evf2 "guides" an enhancer to chromosomal sites that influence gene expression."
"The new details of Evf2 activity reveal a sophisticated system of gene regulation that activates and represses genes, some of which are linked to seizure susceptibility and adult brain function, Kohtz said. The findings offer new insight into one of biology's central questions: how genes are selected for expression to create distinct cell types. "One of the key questions in the field of biology is how genes, arranged on linear chromosomes, are selected for expression," Kohtz said."
Evf2, a long non-coding RNA (lncRNA), actively regulates gene expression during mouse embryonic brain development. Single-cell transcriptomics analysis shows Evf2 guides an enhancer to specific chromosomal sites that influence both activation and repression of genes. Evf2 controls gene sets that include loci linked to seizure susceptibility and adult brain function. Evf2 mediates selective regulation through direct RNA binding, interactions with specific RNA-binding proteins, and recognition of DNA sequences. Evf2 displays distinct RNA binding patterns across chromosomes, implying chromosome-specific regulatory roles that help select genes for cell-type identity.
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