Database Commons

a catalog of worldwide biological databases

The noncoding RNA database (ncRNAdb) was created as a source of information on RNA molecules, which do not possess protein-coding capacity. It is now widely accepted that, in addition to constitutively expressed, housekeeping or infrastructural RNAs, there is a wide variety of RNAs participating in mechanisms involved in regulation of gene expression at all levels of transmission of genetic information from DNA to proteins. Noncoding RNAs' activities include chromatin structure remodeling, transcriptional and translational regulation of gene expression, modulation of protein function and regulation of subcellular distribution of RNAs as well as proteins. Noncoding transcripts have been identified in organisms belonging to all domains of life. Currently, the ncRNAdb contains >30,000 ncRNA sequences from Eukaryotes, Eubacteria and Archaea, but does not include housekeeping transcripts or microRNAs and snoRNAs for which more specialized databases are available. The contents of the database can be accessed via the WWW at http://biobases.ibch.poznan.pl/ncRNA/.

The non-coding RNAs database (http://biobases.ibch.poznan.pl/ncRNA/) contains currently available data on RNAs, which do not have long open reading frames and act as riboregulators. Non-coding RNAs are involved in the specific recognition of cellular nucleic acid targets through complementary base pairing to control cell growth and differentiation. Some of them are connected with several well known developmental and neuro-behavioral disorders. We have divided them into four groups. This paper is a short introduction to the database and presents its latest, updated edition.