John Rinn and Jernej Ule: Guest Editors for Genome Biology RBPome issue

Naomi Attar

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Genome Biology is very pleased to announce the Guest Editors of our special issue on the RBPome as John Rinn and Jernej Ule. The issue will be published in January 2014.

RNA binding proteins and their recognition elements within the transcriptome
The issue will focus on RNA binding proteins (RBPs), and the RNA molecules and motifs to which they bind: it is this RNA landscape, sculpted by RBPs, that we believe to be a particularly exciting and fast-moving area of research at the present time.

John Rinn
Or, as John puts it: "Almost all RNA genes function through protein interactions – with the ongoing explosion of RNA genes being identified, it's a good time to get back to the basics and better understand the possible diversity of the RBP-interactome."

Between them, John and Jernej bring a wealth of experience from the RNA field: John is a pioneer of lncRNAs, where he continues to break new ground, while Jernej developed the CLIP and iCLIP methods for assaying RBP binding sites within RNAs.

Genomics saves the day
Jernej believes that applying genomics technology to the study of RBPs is the best route for addressing what is currently a big challenge for structural biology:
Jernej Ule


"The structure of mRNPs is determined by RNA sequence, which recruits RNA-binding proteins and guides RNA-RNA interactions.  This is different from chromatin, where structure is primarily guided by histone ordering. Each mRNP has a different structure, so the only way to understand their composition is through genomics. Structural genomics is beginning to make a big splash in the RNA field (while proteins are starting to become routine and boring)."

Get submitting!
Research, Method and Software manuscripts describing RBPs and/or the RNAs that bind to them are all welcome for consideration in the special issue. Please note that the submissions deadline is July 31. If you have any questions prior to submitting, or want to ask about deadline extensions, please contact us at editorial@genomebiology.com – we promise to provide a quick and clear response.

Naomi Attar

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