Circular RNA: an emerging key player in RNA world

• Published in: Briefings in bioinformatics Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. 547 - 557
• Main Authors: Meng, Xianwen, Li, Xue, Zhang, Peijing, Wang, Jingjing, Zhou, Yincong, Chen, Ming
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Oxford University Press 01.07.2017; Oxford Publishing Limited (England)
• Subjects: Bioinformatics; Circular RNA; Closed loops; Computational Biology; Gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation; Gene sequencing; Humans; Internet resources; miRNA; Next-generation sequencing; Plant diseases; Plants (botany); Regulators; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA - genetics; Stability analysis; Transcription; Transcriptome; miRNA sponge; bioinformatics identification; noncoding RNA; human disease; circular RNA; high-throughput sequencing
• ISSN: 1467-5463; 1477-4054; 1477-4054
• DOI: 10.1093/bib/bbw045

Abstract Insights into the circular RNA (circRNA) exploration have revealed that they are abundant in eukaryotic transcriptomes. Diverse genomic regions can generate different types of RNA circles, implying their diversity. Covalently closed loop structures elevate the stability of this new type of noncoding RNA. High-throughput sequencing analyses suggest that circRNAs exhibit tissue- and developmental-specific expression, indicating that they may play crucial roles in multiple cellular processes. Strikingly, several circRNAs could function as microRNA sponges and regulate gene transcription, highlighting a new class of important regulators. Here, we review the recent advances in knowledge of endogenous circRNA biogenesis, properties and functions. We further discuss the current findings about circRNAs in human diseases. In plants, the roles of circRNAs remain a mystery. Online resources and bioinformatics identification of circRNAs are essential for the analysis of circRNA biology, although different strategies yield divergent results. The understanding of circRNA functions remains limited; however, circRNAs are enriching the RNA world, acting as an emerging key player.