Cis to trans: small ORF functions emerging through evolution.

Hundreds of thousands of small open reading frames (smORFs) of less than 100 codons exist in every genome, especially in long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) and in the 5' leaders of mRNAs. smORFs are often discarded as nonfunctional, but ribosomal profiling (RiboSeq) reveals that thousands are translated, while characterised smORF functions have risen from anecdotal to identifiable trends: smORFs can either have a cis-noncoding regulatory function (involving low translation of nonfunctional peptides) or full coding function mediated by robustly translated peptides, often having cellular and physiological roles as membrane-associated regulators of canonical proteins. The evolutionary context reveals that many smORFs represent new genes emerging de novo from noncoding sequences.

Constructing a de novo transcriptome and a reference proteome for the bivalve Scrobicularia plana: Comparative analysis of different assembly strategies and proteomic analysis.

Scrobicularia plana is a coastal and estuarine bivalve widely used in ecotoxicological studies. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms for S. plana pollutant responses are hardly known due to the lack of molecular databases.