Researchers Mapped Novel RNA Loci in Fungal Response
New study identifies hundreds of long noncoding RNA sequences that activate when human blood cells encounter Candida auris.
Updated on Sept. 24, 2026 in Life Sciences
Researchers have identified 607 previously unknown polyadenylated long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) loci within human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This research-stage finding details how these genomic sequences respond to the fungal pathogen Candida auris.
Why it matters
Identifying these non-coding genetic elements improves our understanding of how the human immune system regulates its response to fungal infections. This map provides a new layer of biological data for tracking host-pathogen interactions.
The study identified 607 novel polyadenylated lncRNA loci, with 94 showing significant co-expression with protein-coding genes. Researchers also confirmed four candidate cis-associated lncRNA-gene pairs, where the RNA regulates an adjacent gene's expression.
The players
Candida auris
An emerging fungal pathogen known for causing invasive infections in healthcare settings.
The details
The team reanalyzed RNA-sequencing data from peripheral blood mononuclear cells—a primary subset of immune cells circulating in the blood—to track genetic expression changes over 4 and 24 hours. They observed how these cells reacted when exposed to live Candida auris or fungal cell wall components like mannan and β-glucan. Temporal analysis allowed the researchers to distinguish lncRNAs that show distinct response shifts between the 4-hour and 24-hour marks of exposure.
Timeline
4 hours of cell stimulus exposure occurred during testing.
24 hours of cell stimulus exposure occurred during testing.
The Tech Race
This work follows a pattern set by the human epigenome project to define the regulatory landscape of the genome. It advances the race to functionally annotate non-coding regions that were previously dismissed as genomic noise.
This study is a research-stage milestone and does not currently change clinical diagnostics or patient treatment protocols. Scientists and bioinformatics researchers are the primary group who will utilize this catalog to investigate new biomarkers for fungal immunity.
The takeaway
The discovery of these responsive lncRNAs highlights a previously overlooked dimension of the human immune response to fungi. Researchers can now monitor future publications for functional validation studies that determine which of these candidate lncRNA-gene pairs drive actual immune outcomes.
Further reading
Explore more genetic discovery findings in Life Sciences.
More information
Read the Full research study on bioRxiv to examine the identified loci.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Biorxiv.
