Role of nuclear RNA in regulating chromatin structure and transcription

Abstract

The importance of three-dimensional chromatin organisation in genome regulation has never been clearer. But in spite of the enormous technological advances to probe chromatin organisation in vivo, there is still a lack of mechanistic understanding of how such an arrangement is achieved. Here we review emerging evidence pointing to an intriguing role of nuclear RNA in shaping large-scale chromatin structure and regulating genome function. We suggest this role may be achieved through the formation of a dynamic nuclear mesh that can exploit ATP-driven processes and phase separation of RNA-binding proteins to tune its assembly and material properties.