Characterization of human pseudogene-derived non-coding RNAs for functional potential.

ABSTRACT: Thousands of pseudogenes exist in the human genome and many are transcribed, but their functional potential remains elusive and understudied. To explore these issues systematically, we first developed a computational pipeline to identify transcribed pseudogenes from RNA-Seq data. Applying the pipeline to datasets from 16 distinct normal human tissues identified ∼ 3,000 pseudogenes that could produce non-coding RNAs in a manner of low abundance but high tissue specificity under normal physiological conditions. Cross-tissue comparison revealed that the transcriptional profiles of pseudogenes and their parent genes showed mostly positive correlations, suggesting that pseudogene transcription could have a positive effect on the expression of their parent genes, perhaps by functioning as compet

SUBMITTER: Guo X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3974860 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature