Processing and roles of snoRNA-ended long noncoding RNAs

Abstract

Small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs) are a family of conserved nuclear RNAs that function in the modification of small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) or ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs), or participate in the processing of rRNAs during ribosome subunit maturation. Eukaryotic DNA transcription and RNA processing produce many long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) species. Although most lncRNAs are processed like typical mRNAs to be 5' capped and 3' polyadenylated, other types of lncRNAs are stabilized from primary Pol II transcripts by alternative mechanisms. One way to generate stable lncRNAs is to co-operate with snoRNA processing to produce snoRNA-ended lncRNAs (sno-lncRNAs) and 5’ snoRNA-ended and 3’-polyadenylated lncRNAs (SPAs). Rather than silently accumulating in the nucleus, some sno-lncRNAs and SPAs are involved in the regulation of pre-rRNA transcription and alternative splicing of pre-mRNAs. Here we provide a mini-review to discuss the biogenesis and functions of these unusually processed lncRNAs.

Keywords:

• Long noncoding RNA
• lncRNA
• snoRNA
• sno-lncRNA
• SPA
• Prader–Willi syndrome
• nucleolus
• RNA polymerase I

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Gordon Carmichael, Yang Zhang and Huang Wu for reading the manuscript, and Run-Wen Yao and Guang Xu for technical supports in figures.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences [XDB19020104], the Ministry of Science and Technology of China [2016YFA0100701], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [31725009, 31730111], and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute [55008728].