many lncRNAs are translated

What is it about?

Several recent studies based on deep sequencing of ribosome protected fragments have reported that many long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) associate with ribosomes (Everything old is new again: (linc)RNAs make proteins a comment by Stephen M CohenEMBO J. 2014 May ). We have analyzed the original data from experiments performed in six different eukaryotic species and confirmed that this is a widespread phenomenon. This is paradoxical because lncRNAs apparently have little coding capacity.

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Why is it important?

In contrast to typical mRNAs, many lncRNAs are lineage-specific. Therefore, if they are translated, they should be similar to recently evolved protein-coding genes. This is exactly what we have found. The birth of a new functional protein is a process of trial and error that most likely requires the expression of many transcripts that will not survive the test of time. LncRNAs seem to fit the bill for this role.