Genome-Wide Identification of Transcriptional Start Sites in the Plant Pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato str. DC3000

RNA-Seq has provided valuable insights into global gene expression in a wide variety of organisms. Using a modified RNA-Seq approach and Illumina's high-throughput sequencing technology, we globally identified 5′-ends of transcripts for the plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato str. DC3000. A substantial fraction of 5′-ends obtained by this method were consistent with results obtained using global RNA-Seq and 5′RACE. As expected, many 5′-ends were positioned a short distance upstream of annotated genes. We also captured 5′-ends within intergenic regions, providing evidence for the expression of un-annotated genes and non-coding RNAs, and detected numerous examples of antisense transcription, suggesting additional levels of complexity in gene regulation in DC3000. Importantly, targeted searches for sequence patterns in the vicinity of 5′-ends revealed over 1200 putative promoters and other regulatory motifs, establishing a broad foundation for future investigations of regulation at the genomic and single gene levels

Decay of a Model mRNA in Bacillus subtilis by a Combination of RNase J1 5′ Exonuclease and RNase Y Endonuclease Activities ▿ †

The involvement of the recently characterized 5′ exonuclease activity of RNase J1 and endonuclease activity of RNase Y in the turnover of ΔermC mRNA in Bacillus subtilis was investigated. Evidence is presented that both of these activities determine the half-life of ΔermC mRNA