The development of high-throughput RNA structure profiling methods in the past decade has greatly facilitated our ability to map and characterize different aspects of RNA structures transcriptome-wide in cell populations, single cells and single molecules. The resulting high-resolution data have provided insights into the static and dynamic nature of RNA structures, revealing their complexity as they perform their respective functions in the cell. In this Review, we discuss recent technical advances in the determination of RNA structures, and the roles of RNA structures in RNA biogenesis and functions, including in transcription, processing, translation, degradation, localization and RNA structure-dependent condensates. We also discuss the current understanding of how RNA structures could guide drug design for treating genetic diseases and battling pathogenic viruses, and highlight existing challenges and future directions in RNA structure research.

过去十年中高通量RNA结构分析方法的发展极大地提高了我们在细胞群、单细胞和单分子中转录组范围内绘制和表征RNA结构不同方面的能力。由此产生的高分辨率数据提供了对 RNA 结构的静态和动态性质的深入了解，揭示了它们在细胞中执行各自功能时的复杂性。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了 RNA 结构测定的最新技术进展，以及 RNA 结构在 RNA 生物发生和功能中的作用，包括转录、加工、翻译、降解、定位和 RNA 结构依赖性缩合物。我们还讨论了目前对 RNA 结构如何指导治疗遗传疾病和对抗致病病毒的药物设计的理解，并强调了 RNA 结构研究中现有的挑战和未来的方向。