1089-The Essential lncRNA Landscape of Human Transcriptome

Using transcriptome-wide CRISPR-Cas13 screens, researchers identified nearly 800 essential long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) that are critical for human cell survival and proliferation across various cell lines. While most of these molecules function in a cell-type-specific manner, a core group of 15 lncRNAs was found to be essential across multiple contexts. Significantly, the study demonstrates that these lncRNAs typically operate independently of neighboring protein-coding genes, challenging the idea that they only regulate nearby genomic elements. By integrating single-cell sequencing and developmental atlases, the authors discovered that these essential transcripts are dynamically expressed during human embryonic development and often correlate with tumor progression. Ultimately, this research provides a functional map of the noncoding genome, highlighting these lncRNAs as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cancer.

References:

• Liang W W, Mueller S J, Hart S K, et al. Essential lncRNAs in the human transcriptome[J]. Cell Genomics, 2026.