- Course overview
- Search within this course
- Exploring RNAcentral
- Using RNAcentral text search to explore ncRNA sequences
- Using RNAcentral sequence search
- Submitting data to RNAcentral
- Exploring expert databases
- Summary
- Test your knowledge
- Your feedback
- References
- Get help and support on RNAcentral
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What is RNAcentral?
RNAcentral is a database of non-coding RNA sequences that aggregates ncRNA data from over 50 member resources known as Expert Databases.1
Non-coding RNAs
Similar to mRNAs, non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are transcribed from DNA but are not translated into proteins. NcRNAs are found in all organisms and have a broad range of functions. For example, protein synthesis requires transfer RNAs (tRNA) and ribosomal RNAs (rRNA), which are found in all organisms. Many ncRNAs are connected with diseases and are subject to active research.2
Non-coding RNA data in RNAcentral
RNAcentral imports most known types of non-coding RNAs, for example:
- tRNA
- rRNA
- microRNA
- lncRNA
- snoRNA
- piRNA
- SRP RNA
- vault RNA
- and many others
The sequences in RNAcentral come from a wide range of species covering most of the taxonomic space.
RNAcentral is designed as a single entry point for anyone interested in ncRNAs, where they can find a high-level overview of ncRNA content in different species, as well as functional information about individual ncRNAs. This includes genome locations, RNA secondary structure, Rfam classification, orthologs and paralogs, microRNA targets, RNA modifications, and more. In addition RNAcentral provides gene-level entries which group related transcripts into gene-centric views.
RNAcentral not only imports the data but also generates additional annotations, such as a comprehensive genome mapping for >900 reference genomes1 and template-based RNA secondary structure diagrams.
RNAcentral provides six key functionalities:
- Viewing information about ncRNA sequences.
- Text search that allows for exploration of ncRNAs from different member databases.
- Sequence search for running sequence similarity queries against a comprehensive set of ncRNAs.
- Visualisation of RNA 2D structures.
- Gene level entries to explore all isoforms, splice variants and related sequences for a unified interface.
- FTP archive with downloadable files in various formats, including sequences in FASTA format, genome annotations in GFF3 and BED formats, and others.
RNAcentral contains millions of sequences and is updated every 3-4 months via new releases. See how the number of sequences in RNAcentral has changed over time.