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Luigi traverso7/27/2023 ![]() ![]() I will discuss how Transposable Elements and lncRNAs have driven evolution and are crucial regulatory hubs for cells’ differentiation and homeostasis. ![]() Importantly, lncRNAs can represent an almost unlimited reservoir of new therapeutic RNAs to confront unmet medical needs. This large amount of untranslated RNAs has important, yet under-characterized, regulatory functions in the gene expression program of a cell, and it has significantly contributed to the evolution of complex life and species divergence. Large-scale projects such as FANTOM (Functional ANnoTation Of the Mammalian genome) and ENCODE (The Encyclopedia of DNA Elements) have led to the discovery that a great majority of the transcriptome is composed by a diversified class of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are transcribed, may be spliced but do not lead to protein synthesis. Transposable Elements constitute a relevant part of the functional genome shaping its general organization, driving evolution and controlling gene expression at different levels as mobile DNA and regulatory RNAs. A protein coding-centric view of genome’s output left many fundamental questions unanswered: given that mammals present a similar number of genes, where is information located for evolutionary complexity? Is there a function for the non-coding part of the genome including for the so-called junk DNA, mainly composed by repetitive sequences? Since then, our view of the functional output of the genome is radically changed. ![]() More than 20 years have passed since the completion of the first draft of the human genome. Stefano Gustincich – Associate Director for LIFETECH, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy Falaschi“, IGM-Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza, Via Ferrata 9 – 27100 PAVIA ![]()
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