Search

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Bioinformatics is the property of Bioinformatics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Circular RNA ( circRNA) is a type of endogenous RNA widely expressed in eukaryotic cells, which is formed by back-splicing of pre-RNA without 5'cap and 3'tail. circRNA has long been considered to be without coding ability, for it cannot encode protein and just regulates gene expression as microRNA sponge. However, with more and more research results on circRNA over the years, a small number of circRNAs has been proved able to encode protein or peptides in cap-independent manner. These proteins or peptide have been shown to play a vital role in cellular processes. This paper reviews the current circRNA research, and summarizes some bioinformatics methods related to circRNA protein coding ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]