{"title":"Transcriptional junk: Waste or a key regulator in diverse biological processes?","authors":"","doi":"10.1016/j.pbi.2024.102639","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plant genomes, through their evolutionary journey, have developed a complex composition that includes not only protein-coding sequences but also a significant amount of non-coding DNA, repetitive sequences, and transposable elements, traditionally labeled as “junk DNA”. RNA molecules from these regions, labeled as “transcriptional junk,” include non-coding RNAs, alternatively spliced transcripts, untranslated regions (UTRs), and short open reading frames (sORFs). However, recent research shows that this genetic material plays crucial roles in gene regulation, affecting plant growth, development, hormonal balance, and responses to stresses. Additionally, some of these regulatory regions encode small proteins, such as miRNA-encoded peptides (miPEPs) and microProteins (miPs), which interact with DNA or nuclear proteins, leading to chromatin remodeling and modulation of gene expression. This review aims to consolidate our understanding of the diverse roles that these so-called “transcriptional junk” regions play in regulating various physiological processes in plants.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11003,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in plant biology","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":8.3000,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Current opinion in plant biology","FirstCategoryId":"99","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1369526624001304","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PLANT SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Plant genomes, through their evolutionary journey, have developed a complex composition that includes not only protein-coding sequences but also a significant amount of non-coding DNA, repetitive sequences, and transposable elements, traditionally labeled as “junk DNA”. RNA molecules from these regions, labeled as “transcriptional junk,” include non-coding RNAs, alternatively spliced transcripts, untranslated regions (UTRs), and short open reading frames (sORFs). However, recent research shows that this genetic material plays crucial roles in gene regulation, affecting plant growth, development, hormonal balance, and responses to stresses. Additionally, some of these regulatory regions encode small proteins, such as miRNA-encoded peptides (miPEPs) and microProteins (miPs), which interact with DNA or nuclear proteins, leading to chromatin remodeling and modulation of gene expression. This review aims to consolidate our understanding of the diverse roles that these so-called “transcriptional junk” regions play in regulating various physiological processes in plants.
期刊介绍:
Current Opinion in Plant Biology builds on Elsevier's reputation for excellence in scientific publishing and long-standing commitment to communicating high quality reproducible research. It is part of the Current Opinion and Research (CO+RE) suite of journals. All CO+RE journals leverage the Current Opinion legacy - of editorial excellence, high-impact, and global reach - to ensure they are a widely read resource that is integral to scientists' workflow.