CRISPRi-based genome-scale identification of functional long noncoding RNA loci in human cells

A very focused function for lncRNAs The human genome generates many thousands of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). A very small number of lncRNAs have been shown to be functional. Liu et al. carried out a large-scale CRISPR-based screen to assess the function of ∼17,000 lncRNAs in seven different human cell lines. A considerable number (∼500) of the tested lncRNAs influenced cell growth, suggesting biological function. In almost all cases, though, the function was highly cell type—specific, often limited to just one cell type. Science , this issue p. 10.1126/science.aah7111