About this Research Topic
The notion that short open reading frames (sORFs) could be translated to produce functional short peptides was considered heretical by some, nonsense by others and generally over-looked by most. However, in the last 15 years or so, evidence of translatable sORFs, and the functionality of their products, has been steadily building. To date, several short peptides have been functionally characterised in a number of species and many of these would make ideal therapeutic targets or be utilised as therapeutic agents themselves.
Recent advances in mass-spectrometry and the advent of ribosome profiling have aided the identification of sORF-encoded peptides and their characterisation, but their small size and often very short half-lives continue to bedevil the field. Nevertheless, progress is being made and a number of resources, including public databases, are now available to the researcher to aid in the discovery of new short peptides.
This Research Topic invites outstanding research and review articles that not only recognize the contribution of sORF-encoded peptides to biomedical and agricultural science but also identify new opportunities for this field of enquiry. This collection includes but is not limited to the following research categories:
1) The role of sORFs in gene birth/death and species evolution (from bacteria to archaea to eukaryotes)
2) sORF-encoded peptides as agents of gene expression
3) sORF-encoded peptides as modulators of protein function
4) sORF-encoded peptides in development and embryology
5) sORF-encoded peptides in human diseases
6) sORFs and sORF-encoded peptides as therapeutic targets
7) sORFs and sORF-encoded peptides in agriculture
8) Identification & characterisation of sORF-encoded peptides
9) Internet resources for sORFs and sORF-encoded peptides
10) Mass spectrometry and Ribo-Seq methods to identify sORF-encoded peptides from biological samples
Recent advances in mass-spectrometry and the advent of ribosome profiling have aided the identification of sORF-encoded peptides and their characterisation, but their small size and often very short half-lives continue to bedevil the field. Nevertheless, progress is being made and a number of resources, including public databases, are now available to the researcher to aid in the discovery of new short peptides.
This Research Topic invites outstanding research and review articles that not only recognize the contribution of sORF-encoded peptides to biomedical and agricultural science but also identify new opportunities for this field of enquiry. This collection includes but is not limited to the following research categories:
1) The role of sORFs in gene birth/death and species evolution (from bacteria to archaea to eukaryotes)
2) sORF-encoded peptides as agents of gene expression
3) sORF-encoded peptides as modulators of protein function
4) sORF-encoded peptides in development and embryology
5) sORF-encoded peptides in human diseases
6) sORFs and sORF-encoded peptides as therapeutic targets
7) sORFs and sORF-encoded peptides in agriculture
8) Identification & characterisation of sORF-encoded peptides
9) Internet resources for sORFs and sORF-encoded peptides
10) Mass spectrometry and Ribo-Seq methods to identify sORF-encoded peptides from biological samples
Keywords: sORF-encoded peptides, short peptides, short open reading frames, peptide-regulators, sORF informatics
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
