Throughoutthe last number of years, the non-protein-coding portion of the human genomehas gone from being considered “junk DNA” to “hot spots” in the area of lifescience. Genome-wide transcriptome studies indicate that this portion covers75-90% of the genome, whereas only 2% of the human genome comprisesprotein-coding genes. The non-protein-coding areas in the genome generatenon-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) that are subsequently divided according to theirfunction and size. In the human genome, the majority of these ncRNAs areclassified as long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), transcripts of more than 200nucleotides that are not translated into proteins. lncRNAs have been foundto be involved in many biological processes, such as in chromatinmodifications. Despite their apparent importance, only a handful oflncRNAs have been discovered and characterized; their function and mechanismsof action remain elusive. My research objective was to identify andcharacterize lncRNAs, especially those that are hypothesized to be functionaland work in a sequence-specific trans-regulating manner.
