Final Report Summary - NONCODEVOL (Evolutionary genomics of long, non-coding RNAs)
Long, non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) constitute a novel class of molecules that are not translated into proteins. An increasing number of lncRNAs have been experimentally characterized revealing important roles in health and disease. The NONCODEVOL project aims at understanding the evolutionary forces that act on lncRNAs, so that this information can be used to discover which srutcural and sequence elements are constrained and thus likely important for function. The NONCODEVOL project has developed an experimental and computational framework to study the evolution of lncRNAs sequence and structures across species. This has enabled us to trace at high levels of resolution how sequence and structure of lncRNAs vary across closely related species.