Brief timeline of gene expression discoveries with a focus on the most recent 25 years. Right. Breakthroughs in genomic regulation [transcription, mRNA turnover, translation (darker shade)] and epigenomic changes [modifications of DNA, RNA, and histones (medium shade)] are highlighted at the bottom of the schematic. Superimposed upon genomic and epigenomic processes, a supragenomic array of regulatory schemes mediated by lncRNAs (light shade) in the nucleus and cytoplasm has emerged over the past 25 years, as discussed in this article. Left, key lncRNAs (red font) and RNA families (black font) are listed.