Deconstructing lincRNA regulation during ESC to NPC differentiation

Using single-cell and bulk RNA-sequencing, we profiled mouse embryonic stem cells and neural precursor cells to identify lincRNAs with cell type- and subpopulation-specific expression. In contrast to mRNAs, we found that lincRNAs are prone to prematurely terminate transcription, are less abundant across single cells, and are degraded by the nuclear exosome. These properties indicate that lincRNA genes widely function without requiring their RNA product. To test this prediction experimentally, we developed a method that separates the role of a lincRNA gene from the role of its RNA product. This revealed RNA-independent lincRNA gene activities, underscoring the importance of distinguishing the roles of transcription, the genomic locus, and the RNA product when studying non-coding loci, for which we are providing suitable tools.