Special issue on RNA processing and regulation

This year（2018） marks the 60th anniversary of the “central dogma”, summarized as “DNA makes RNA makes protein”, which was originally proposed by Francis Crick in 1958. Three years later, messenger RNA was identified as the template of protein synthesis. After 60 years of discovery, including discovery of the split nature of eukaryotic genes（i.e., splicing）, it becomes evident that messenger RNAs are not merely messengers, but a hub of co-and post-transcriptional regulation, which is fundamental to amplify the complexity encoded in the genome of higher eukaryotic organisms.