Updates on plant long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs): the regulatory components

Abstract

The advent of high-throughput RNA Sequencing (RNA-Seq) datasets revealed that a large fraction of transcribed RNAs does not code for proteins. However, studies suggest that these RNAs have various regulatory roles. The long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) (length > 200 nucleotides) is the largest family of the non-coding RNA (ncRNAs) and the largest portion among various types of ncRNAs. LncRNAs regulate the gene expression at transcriptional, post-transcriptional and epigenetic levels through different mechanistic themes and interaction with all kind of biomolecules like DNA, RNA and proteins. The lncRNAs have important roles in the regulation of reproduction and sex determination, modulation of transcriptional patterns and protein activities as well as alteration of RNA processing events in animals and plants. Debates are still going on the role of lncRNAs especially in plants as the biological data are increasing with time. In this review, mechanisms of action, biological roles, classification on the basis of genomic locations of plant lncRNAs have been discussed in detail. Despite being the largest group of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) family, the long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are least characterized in terms of regulatory functions. In this review, updated information has been provided regarding biological roles and mechanism of action of plant lncRNAs.