ABSTRACT
Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are a class of conserved noncoding RNAs forming complexes with proteins to catalyse site-specific modifications on ribosomal RNA. Besides this canonical role, several snoRNAs are now known to regulate diverse levels of gene expression. While these functions are carried out in trans by mature snoRNAs, evidence has also been emerging of regulatory roles of snoRNAs in cis, either within their genomic locus or as longer transcription intermediates during their maturation. Herein, we review recent findings that snoRNAs can interact in cis with their intron to regulate the expression of their host gene. We also explore the ever-growing diversity of longer host-derived snoRNA extensions and their functional impact across the transcriptome. Finally, we discuss the role of snoRNA duplications into forging these new layers of snoRNA-mediated regulation, as well as their involvement in the genomic imprinting of their host locus.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank members of their lab for the insightful ideas and discussions.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Author contributions
ÉFC, SL and MSS wrote the manuscript. ÉFC assembled the data and made the figures.
Data availability statement
The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials.
Supplementary material
Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/15476286.2024.2342685