RNAcentral, the RNA sequence database

在分子生物学中，核心教条解释说，DNA中的基因编码RNA。然后，RNA分子被翻译成蛋白质，蛋白质是在细胞中执行主要过程的微型机器。最近已经变得明显的是，可能有数千个人类基因编码RNA，这些RNA不会被翻译成蛋白质，而是作为RNA在细胞中发挥重要功能。这些分子通常被称为非编码RNA。在过去30年的研究中，生物学的大部分焦点都集中在DNA和蛋白质上，但最近对非编码RNA的兴趣激增。事实上，从RNA中制造蛋白质的机器的核心，也就是核糖体，已经被证明是由RNA组成的。非编码RNA还被证明广泛参与调节其他基因的水平，并可能有助于对各种疾病的患者进行治疗。非编码RNA在植物和动物发育中的作用是显而易见的，但对生物学的更深入了解是必不可少的，从而使它们的调节能够提高产量或抗病能力等特征。不出所料，非编码RNA的异常表达也与许多疾病状态有关。由于缺乏将所有已知的非编码RNA收集在一起的权威和完整的资源，非编码RNA领域的研究和创新受到阻碍。有超过30个不同的在线数据库，其中包含关于不同类型的RNA分子的信息。这些资源中的每一个都以不同的方式提供信息。这些资源的分散性使得生物学家几乎不可能发现与他们的研究领域相关的非编码RNA的已知内容。为了解决这个问题，我们创建了一个名为RNACentral的资源，它将来自所有不同RNA数据库的信息集中在一个地方。存储在RNA中央的最重要的信息被称为RNA序列。许多现有的RNA资源(称为RNA中央专家数据库)已经向RNA中央提供了它们的数据。在这项提案中，我们将在RNACentral中添加更多关于RNAs结构和功能的详细信息。我们将与曼彻斯特大学的一个名为miRBase的特定专家数据库密切合作，该数据库将测试搜索特定RNA子集上的RNA中央序列数据库的系统。到该项目结束时，来自英国和世界其他地区的研究人员将有机会获得更多关于RNA的信息。这些信息将以各种方式免费提供，包括通过网站和作为可下载的数据库。获得这些信息将有助于研究人员更好地将RNA连接到他们的工作中，帮助他们更快地做出新的发现。

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.