Originally considered to be genomic “junk”, non-coding RNAs have emerged as important regulators of nearly all biological processes over the past few decades. Technological advances, including improvements to sequencing technologies, have enabled the discovery of thousands of non-coding RNAs from several different classes (e.g., small non-coding RNAs, long non-coding RNAs, circular RNAs) across a wide range of species from all kingdoms of life. More recently, further methodological advances have facilitated the discovery that non-coding RNAs play important roles in host-pathogen interactions. microRNAs have garnered particular attention in this area, having been found to promote innate immune responses in a variety of host species, while paradoxically being utilized by pathogens, especially viruses, to evade detection or clearance by the immune systems of their hosts.

This collection will showcase exciting new methods to study the functions of non-coding RNAs in host-pathogen interactions. We invite methods articles on topics including (but not limited to) the function of host- or pathogen-derived non-coding RNAs (of any class) in host immunity, immunoevasion tactics employed by pathogens, regulation of pathogen lifecycles, and advances in non-coding RNA profiling that will enable simultaneous profiling of host- and pathogen-derived non-coding RNAs. We encourage the submission of articles detailing methods that can be adapted for use in a variety of species, and those that have been developed for studying non-model species that are often understudied.