The Yin and Yang of enhancer-like RNAs

Long noncoding RNAs are emerging as a critical component of transcriptional activation. Over the past few years, there has been a number of examples where long noncoding RNAs expressed from distal sites exert their activating functions on neighbouring protein-coding genes. A new study in The EMBO Journal (Lu et al, 2013) now extends this paradigm by revealing a role for the transcription factor Yin Yang 1 (YY1) in the regulation of the expression of long noncoding RNAs (termed Yams) during myogenesis. Importantly, the authors demonstrate a functional role for Yam-1 in muscle differentiation through activation of a neighbouring micoRNA-715 leading to downregulation of Wnt7b.