Today, an article was published on EurekAlert!, highlighting our novel molecule discovery research. Continuing our previous work on short RNA, the Kirino lab identified new potential roles for the cyclic-phosphate containing RNAs. cP-RNAs are difficult to sequence and study because of their shape. In this work, the Kirino lab provide genome-wide identification of these molecules. Additionally, they showed their age-dependent reduction.
Read more on EurekAlert! or read the paper!
Three years ago, […] Dr. Kirino’s lab developed a system for targeting cP-RNAs so that they could be amplified and sequenced. Using this method, the research team was able to sequence all of the cP-RNAs present in the mouse tissues. “This is the first complete sequencing data for this RNA subtype,” says Dr. Kirino.
The sequencing revealed several surprises. […] First author Megumi Shigematsu, a research associate in Dr. Kirino’s lab, showed there was a lot more of the cP-RNA than expected. Numerous novel cP-RNA species were identified to be generated from various types of cellular RNAs such as transfer RNAs, messenger RNAs, and ribosomal RNAs. This suggests that cyclic phosphates may be involved in the function of RNA with various roles in the cells.
