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Regulatory non-coding RNAs: everything is possible, but what is important?

Nature Methods volume 19, pages 1156–1159 (2022)Cite this article

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In recent years, the number of annotated noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) has increased dramatically. The wide range of RBPs identified highlights the enormous potential for RNA in virtually all aspects of cell biology, from transcriptional regulation to metabolic control. Yet, there is a growing gap between what is possible and what has been demonstrated to be functionally important. Here we highlight recent methodological developments in the study of RNA–protein interactions, discuss the challenges and opportunities for exploring their functional roles, and provide our perspectives on what is needed to bridge the gap in this rapidly expanding field.

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Fig. 1: Identification and functional characterization of RNA–protein interactions.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank I.-M. Strazhnik for Fig. 1 and S. Hiley for editing. J.K.G. is supported by the University of Southern California MD/PhD program. Research in the Guttman laboratory is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) 4DN program, an NIH Director’s Transformative R01 award, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and funds from California Institute of Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA

    Jimmy K. Guo & Mitchell Guttman

  2. Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Jimmy K. Guo

Authors
  1. Jimmy K. Guo
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  2. Mitchell Guttman
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The authors contributed equally to all aspects of the article.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mitchell Guttman.

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Guo, J.K., Guttman, M. Regulatory non-coding RNAs: everything is possible, but what is important?. Nat Methods 19, 1156–1159 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-022-01629-6

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