Deep Conservation and Unexpected Evolutionary History of Neighboring lncRNAs MALAT1 and NEAT1.

ABSTRACT: Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) have begun to receive overdue attention for their regulatory roles in gene expression and other cellular processes. Although most lncRNAs are lowly expressed and tissue-specific, notable exceptions include MALAT1 and its genomic neighbor NEAT1, two highly and ubiquitously expressed oncogenes with roles in transcriptional regulation and RNA splicing. Previous studies have suggested that NEAT1 is found only in mammals, while MALAT1 is present in all gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) except birds. Here we show that these assertions are incomplete, likely due to the challenges associated with properly identifying these two lncRNAs. Using phylogenetic analysis and structure-aware annotation of publicly available genomic and RNA-seq coverage data, we show that NEAT1

SUBMITTER: Weghorst F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10869381 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature