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{{short description|Known RNA transcripts of DNA whose function is unclear}}
'''Transcripts of unknown function (TUFs)''' is the name that has been suggested for known [[RNA|RNA transcripts]] of [[DNA]] whose function is unclear. Most TUFs are probably [[Non-coding RNA|ncRNAs]], such as [[Small nuclear RNA|snRNAsRNAi]] or [[snoRNA|snoRNAs]]s, but could also represent a whole new class of ncRNA.<ref name="Gingeras">{{cite journal | last = Gingeras | first = Thomas R. | year = 2007 | title = Origin of phenotypes: Genes and transcripts | journal = Genome Research | volume = 17| issue = 6 | pages = 682682–690 | doi = 10.1101/gr.6525007 | pmid = 17567989 | doi-690access = free }}</ref> TheTheir [[DNA sequences for TUFssequence]]s reside in the [[Intergenic region|intergenic]] or [[Intron|intronicintron]]ic regions of the [[genome]], which is often called [[Junk DNA|junk DNA]]. This currently makes up much of the [[human genome]], although the percentage of the genome that falls under the TUFs category is likely to go down significantly as more progress is made towards understanding the many roles of RNA.
== Categories of TUFs ==
Broadly speaking, TUFs can be classified into three categories:<ref name="Gingeras" />
<br />1. # TUFs that are complementary to [[Sense (molecular biology)|sense transcripts]] of [[gene|protein-coding genes[[gene]]s
<br />2. # TUFs that are novel [[Protein isoform|isoform]] transcripts of protein-coding genes; this can include expressed [[pseudogene|expressed pseudogenes]]s
<br />3. # TUFs that reside on the same strand as protein-coding genes in the intronic region or entirely in the intergenic region
