Short RNA half-lives in the slow-growing marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus.

ABSTRACT:

Background

RNA turnover plays an important role in the gene regulation of microorganisms and influences their speed of acclimation to environmental changes. We investigated whole-genome RNA stability of Prochlorococcus, a relatively slow-growing marine cyanobacterium doubling approximately once a day, which is extremely abundant in the oceans.

Results

Using a combination of microarrays, quantitative RT-PCR and a new fitting method for determining RNA decay rates, we found a median half-life of 2.4 minutes and a median decay rate of 2.6 minutes for expressed genes - twofold faster than that reported for any organism. The shortest transcript half-life (33 seconds) was for a gene of unknown function, while some of the longest (approximately 18 minutes) were for genes with high

SUBMITTER: Steglich C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2897979 | biostudies-literature | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature