Editorial: Deciphering Non-Coding Regulatory Variants: Computational and Functional Validation

Non-coding DNA sequences play an important role in an organism’s genome. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have produced tens of thousands of genetic variants that are associated with complex phenotypes from different species, and the majority of these associations fall into the non-coding regions and are suggested to be mediated by context-specific regulatory codes. As large-scale genomic sequencing together with constantly evolving biotechnology revolutionize the functional genomics field, we still face great challenges to accurately predict, interpret, and evaluate the biological functions of non-coding regulatory variants in gene regulation. This research topic aims to discuss recent advances made in understanding the regulatory potentials of non-coding genetic variants/somatic mutations (e.g., affecting transcription, splicing, or epigenetic activities) in various organisms using either computational or experimental methods. Novel approaches, tools, and results for accurate regulatory variant prediction and classification, non-coding variant annotation, deleterious prioritization, and functional assays for regulatory mechanism are recommended. Moreover, the research topic is also expanded to seek recent advances in understanding the regulatory potentials of non-coding RNAs.