Pseudogenes-functions and protocols, second edition

Seven years after the first one, the second edition of Pseudogenes Functions and Protocols reflects the knowledge accumulated on this previously neglected class of long non-coding RNAs, both in terms of techniques suitable for their study and in terms of functions that they exert, in physiology and in disease.After the introductory Part I, which gives an overview on pseudogene history, classes and functions, Part II and III give updates on methods for pseudogene identification and on pseudogene repositories. Part IV is dedicated to methods that allow to pinpoint pseudogene-related alterations in cancer. Part V and VI collect methods that allow to study pseudogene functions. Specifically, Part V is focused on transcribed pseudogenes, which can work as competitors for the binding of microRNAs or RNA Binding Proteins, as epigenetic regulators and as cis/trans-acting antisense transcripts. Conversely, Part VI is focused on translated pseudogenes. Part VII and Part VIII highlight how CRISPR/Cas9-based technologies can be applied to the positive and negative manipulation of pseudogene expression, both in vitro and in mouse models. Part IX is composed of chapters that address the clinical relevance of pseudogenes, by showing that they can be exploited as diagnostic/prognostic/predictive biomarkers and even as therapeutic targets. Finally, Part X overviews the latest developments in next generation sequencing and explains how the detection of parental genes can be ensured, when pseudogenes are not the subject of study.By providing an updated collection of techniques, I hope that this volume will keep fostering scientific interest on pseudogenes, hence will contribute to consolidate the place they have earned within the non-coding transcriptome.