Hon, C. et al. Nature 543, 199–204 (2017).

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are abundant throughout the genome, but they are largely functionally undefined. For some lncRNAs it is not so much the actual transcript but the act of transcription that exerts regulatory function, for example, by recruiting nucleosome remodeling factors. Thus it is as important to define sequence features and evolutionary constraints at lncRNA loci as it is to sequence the lncRNA transcripts themselves. Hon et al. used the almost 28,000 human lncRNA genes with defined 5′ ends—as characterized by the FANTOM5 project—together with expression profiles to elucidate diversity, conservation and association of lncRNA genes with known regulatory regions or disease traits. Their lncRNA atlas contains over 19,000 human lncRNAs and their potential functions, and it provides a rich resource for researchers who wish to prioritize certain lncRNAs for further studies.