Circular RNAs in Brassica rapa pollen development

Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are covalently closed RNA molecules generated by the back-splicing of exons from linear precursor mRNAs. Though various linear RNAs have been shown to play important regulatory roles in many biological and developmental processes, little is known about the role of their circular counterparts. In this study, we have performed high-throughput RNA sequencing to delineate the expression profile and potential function of circRNAs during the five stages of pollen development in Brassica rapa.