Genomics and the immune system

Summary While the hereditary information encoded in the Watson–Crick base pairing of genomes is largely static within a given individual, access to this information is controlled by dynamic mechanisms. The human genome is pervasively transcribed, but the roles played by the majority of the non‐protein‐coding genome sequences are still largely unknown. In this review we focus on insights to gene transcriptional regulation by placing special emphasis on genome‐wide approaches, and on how non‐coding RNAs, which derive from global transcription of the genome, in turn control gene expression. We review recent progress in the field with highlights on the immune system.