The RNA Atlas expands the catalog of human non-coding RNAs

The human transcriptome consists of various RNA biotypes including multiple types of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). Current ncRNA compendia remain incomplete partially because they are almost exclusively derived from the interrogation of small- and polyadenylated RNAs. Here, we present a more comprehensive atlas of the human transcriptome that is derived from matching polyA-, total-, and small-RNA profiles of a heterogenous collection of nearly 300 human tissues and cell lines. We report thousands of novel RNA species across all major RNA biotypes, including a hitherto poorly-cataloged class of non-polyadenylated single-exon long non-coding RNAs. In addition, we exploit intron abundance estimates from total RNA-sequencing to predict the regulatory potential of various non-coding RNAs. Our study represents a substantial expansion of the current catalogue of human ncRNAs and their regulatory interactions. All data and results are accessible through the R2 webtool and serve as a basis to further explore RNA biology and function.

人类转录组包含多种RNA生物型别，其中涵盖多类非编码RNA（non-coding RNAs，ncRNAs）。当前的非编码RNA汇编集仍存在不完备性，部分原因在于其几乎仅基于小型RNA与多腺苷酸化RNA的检测研究构建。本研究构建了一套更为全面的人类转录组图谱，其数据源自对近300份异质性人类组织与细胞系的polyA-、总RNA以及小型RNA的测序谱匹配整合分析。我们在所有主要RNA生物型别中鉴定出数千种全新RNA物种，其中包括一类迄今鲜有收录的非多腺苷酸化单外显子长链非编码RNA。此外，我们利用总RNA测序得到的内含子丰度估算结果，预测了各类非编码RNA的调控潜能。本研究大幅扩充了当前人类非编码RNA及其调控互作的目录。所有数据与研究结果均可通过R2网络工具获取，可为后续RNA生物学与功能研究提供重要支撑。