Pervasive transcription of the genome generates a huge repertoire of non-coding RNAs, some of which are functional while some are not. Annotation and functional characterization of the class of long non-coding RNAs has been an area of interest worldwide.
Our lab has discovered a long intronic non-coding RNA, mrhl (mouse recombination hotspot locus) and its human homolog, hmrhl, both of which are transcribed form the intron 15 of phkb gene. While mrhl exhibits tissue-specific expression in adult mouse, hmrhl is differentially expressed in multiple cancers. Studies are being conducted to understand the role of mrhl RNA in early mammalian development and its human homolog, hmrhl, and its role in cancers.