RNAcentral, the RNA sequence database

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In molecular biology, the central dogma explains that the genes in DNA code for RNA. RNA molecules are then translated into proteins that are the mini-machines that carry out the main processes in the cell. Recently it has become apparent that potentially many thousands of human genes code for RNAs that are not translated into proteins, but rather carry out important functions in the cell as RNA. These molecules are often known as non-coding RNAs. Much of the focus in biology over the past thirty years of research has been on DNA and proteins, but recently there has been a surge of interest in non-coding RNAs. In fact, the core of the machine that makes proteins from RNA, called the ribosome, has itself been shown to be made of RNA. Non-coding RNAs have also been shown to be widely involved in regulating the levels of other genes and may be useful in making treatments for patients with a variety of diseases. The role of non-coding RNAs in plant and animal development is evident, but a deeper understanding of the biology is essential, thereby allowing their modulation to enhance features such as yield or resistance to diseases. Unsurprisingly, aberrant expression of non-coding RNAs has also been implicated in numerous disease states.Research and innovation in the area of non-coding RNAs, and in molecular biology more generally, is hampered by the lack of an authoritative and complete resource collecting together all known non-coding RNAs. There are over 30 different online databases that contain information about different types of RNA molecules. Each of these resources makes their information available in different ways. The scattered nature of these resources has made it nearly impossible for biologists to discover what is known about non-coding RNAs related to their research area. To address this problem we created a resource called RNAcentral that brings together information from all the different RNA databases in one place. The most important information stored in RNAcentral is called the sequence of the RNA. Many existing RNA resources (called RNAcentral Expert Databases) have provided their data to RNAcentral. In this proposal we will add further more detailed information about the structure and function of RNAs into RNAcentral. We will work closely with one specific expert database, called miRBase, based at the University of Manchester, who will test out the system for searching the RNAcentral sequence database on specific subsets of RNAs. By the end of this project, researchers from around the UK and the rest of the world will have access to an increased set of information about RNAs. This information will be freely available in a variety of ways including via a website and as a downloadable database. Having access to this information will help researchers connect RNAs into their work better to help them make new discoveries sooner.