Since the discovery of microRNA (miRNA), the polymorphisms that affect miRNA regulation had been extensively investigated by many independent studies. Recently, researchers utilized bioinformatics and statistical approaches for genome-wide analysis on the human polymorphisms that reside in the miRNA genes, targets, and/or genes involved in miRNA processing. In this review, we will give an overview about the important findings of these studies from three perspectives: architecture of the polymorphisms within miRNAs or their targets, potential functional consequences of the polymorphisms on miRNA processing or targeting, and the associations of the polymorphisms with miRNA or target gene expression. The results of the previous studies demonstrated the signatures of natural selections on the miRNA genes and their targets, and proposed a collection of potentially functional, expression-associated, and/or positively selected polymorphisms that are promising for further investigations. In the meantime, a few useful resources about the polymorphic miRNA regulation have been developed and the different features of these databases were discussed in this review. Though recent research had benefited from these comprehensive studies and resources, there were still gaps in our knowledge about the polymorphisms involved in miRNA regulation, and future investigations were expected to address these questions. Full article

The recent advent of high-throughput approaches has revealed widespread transcription of the human genome, leading to a new appreciation of transcription regulation, especially from noncoding regions. Distinct from most coding and small noncoding RNAs, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are generally expressed at low levels, are less conserved and lack protein-coding capacity. These intrinsic features of lncRNAs have not only hampered their full annotation in the past several years, but have also generated controversy concerning whether many or most of these lncRNAs are simply the result of transcriptional noise. Here, we assess these intrinsic features that have challenged lncRNA discovery and further summarize recent progress in lncRNA discovery with integrated methodologies, from which new lessons and insights can be derived to achieve better characterization of lncRNA expression regulation. Full annotation of lncRNA repertoires and the implications of such annotation will provide a fundamental basis for comprehensive understanding of pervasive functions of lncRNAs in biological regulation. Full article

MicroRNAs (miRs) have emerged as major regulators of the protein content of a cell. In the most part, miRs negatively regulate target mRNA expression, with sets of miRs predicted to regulate certain signaling pathways. The miR expression profile of endobronchial brushings is altered in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) compared to those without CF. How this impacts on CF has important implications for our growing understanding of the pathophysiology of CF lung disease and the development of new therapeutics to treat its pulmonary manifestations. Herein we discuss the potential consequences of altered miR expression in CF airway epithelium particularly with respect to cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) expression, innate immunity and toll-like receptor signalling and explore how best to exploit these changes for therapeutic benefit. Full article

Knowledge of sexual reproduction systems in flowering plants is essential to humankind, with crop fertility vitally important for food security. Here, we review rapidly emerging new evidence for the key importance of non-coding RNAs in male reproductive development in flowering plants. From the commitment of somatic cells to initiating reproductive development through to meiosis and the development of pollen—containing the male gametes (sperm cells)—in the anther, there is now overwhelming data for a diversity of non-coding RNAs and emerging evidence for crucial roles for them in regulating cellular events at these developmental stages. A particularly exciting development has been the association of one example of cytoplasmic male sterility, which has become an unparalleled breeding tool for producing new crop hybrids, with a non-coding RNA locus. Full article