When function isn’t always ‘function’ for non-coding RNAs - Biome. One of the more striking biological discoveries of the past decade has been the extent of transcription from regions of the genome that do not code for proteins. The resulting non-coding (nc)RNA has been the subject of lively debate. Much of this debate has focused on what proportion of this ncRNA is likely to be functional. Two opposing PloS Biology papers from 2011 offer a good starting point, arguing either that ncRNAs probably represent functional transcripts, or that while substantial ncRNA transcription exists, it is often not biologically meaningful, representing either technical artefact or undirected transcriptional ‘noise’.
The debate reared its head again last year with the publication of ENCODE, whose inclusion of any biochemical activity in its definition of ‘functional’ was subject to complaint. The number of ways transcription can mediate gene regulation is surprisingly high.