TY - JOUR A1 - Siegel, T. Nicolai A1 - Hon, Chung-Chau A1 - Zhang, Qinfeng A1 - Lopez-Rubio, Jose-Juan A1 - Scheidig-Benatar, Christine A1 - Martins, Rafeal M. A1 - Sismeiro, Odile A1 - Coppée, Jean-Yves T1 - Strand-specific RNA-Seq reveals widespread and developmentally regulated transcription of natural antisense transcripts in Plasmodium falciparum JF - BMC Genomics N2 - Background Advances in high-throughput sequencing have led to the discovery of widespread transcription of natural antisense transcripts (NATs) in a large number of organisms, where these transcripts have been shown to play important roles in the regulation of gene expression. Likewise, the existence of NATs has been observed in Plasmodium but our understanding towards their genome-wide distribution remains incomplete due to the limited depth and uncertainties in the level of strand specificity of previous datasets. Results To gain insights into the genome-wide distribution of NATs in P. falciparum, we performed RNA-ligation based strand-specific RNA sequencing at unprecedented depth. Our data indicate that 78.3% of the genome is transcribed during blood-stage development. Moreover, our analysis reveals significant levels of antisense transcription from at least 24% of protein-coding genes and that while expression levels of NATs change during the intraerythrocytic developmental cycle (IDC), they do not correlate with the corresponding mRNA levels. Interestingly, antisense transcription is not evenly distributed across coding regions (CDSs) but strongly clustered towards the 3′-end of CDSs. Furthermore, for a significant subset of NATs, transcript levels correlate with mRNA levels of neighboring genes. Finally, we were able to identify the polyadenylation sites (PASs) for a subset of NATs, demonstrating that at least some NATs are polyadenylated. We also mapped the PASs of 3443 coding genes, yielding an average 3′ untranslated region length of 523 bp. Conclusions Our strand-specific analysis of the P. falciparum transcriptome expands and strengthens the existing body of evidence that antisense transcription is a substantial phenomenon in P. falciparum. For a subset of neighboring genes we find that sense and antisense transcript levels are intricately linked while other NATs appear to be regulated independently of mRNA transcription. Our deep strand-specific dataset will provide a valuable resource for the precise determination of expression levels as it separates sense from antisense transcript levels, which we find to often significantly differ. In addition, the extensive novel data on 3′ UTR length will allow others to perform searches for regulatory motifs in the UTRs and help understand post-translational regulation in P. falciparum. KW - directional RNA-Seq KW - ncRNA KW - natural antisense transcripts KW - 3′ UTR KW - polyadenylation sites KW - genes KW - antisense RNA KW - plasmodium falciparum Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-119892 VL - 15 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bielaszewska, Martina A1 - Schiller, Roswitha A1 - Lammers, Lydia A1 - Bauwens, Andreas A1 - Fruth, Angelika A1 - Middendorf, Barbara A1 - Schmidt, M. Alexander A1 - Tarr, Phillip I. A1 - Dobrindt, Ulrich A1 - Karch, Helge A1 - Mellmann, Alexander T1 - Heteropathogenic virulence and phylogeny reveal phased pathogenic metamorphosis in Escherichia coli O2:H6 JF - EMBO Molecular Medicine N2 - Extraintestinal pathogenic and intestinal pathogenic (diarrheagenic) Escherichia coli differ phylogenetically and by virulence profiles. Classic theory teaches simple linear descent in this species, where non-pathogens acquire virulence traits and emerge as pathogens. However, diarrheagenic Shiga toxin-producing E.coli (STEC) O2:H6 not only possess and express virulence factors associated with diarrheagenic and uropathogenic E.coli but also cause diarrhea and urinary tract infections. These organisms are phylogenetically positioned between members of an intestinal pathogenic group (STEC) and extraintestinal pathogenic E.coli. STEC O2:H6 is, therefore, a 'heteropathogen,' and the first such hybrid virulent E.coli identified. The phylogeny of these E.coli and the repertoire of virulence traits they possess compel consideration of an alternate view of pathogen emergence, whereby one pathogroup of E.coli undergoes phased metamorphosis into another. By understanding the evolutionary mechanisms of bacterial pathogens, rational strategies for counteracting their detrimental effects on humans can be developed. KW - phased metamorphosis KW - phylogeny KW - heteropathogenicity KW - Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli KW - hemolytic-uremic syndrome KW - urinary-tract-infection KW - cytolethal distending toxin KW - shiga toxin KW - Crohns-disease KW - outbreak KW - genes KW - island KW - strains KW - parallel evolution KW - uropathogenic Escherichia coli Y1 - 2014 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-117254 SN - 1757-4684 VL - 6 IS - 3 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schmidtke, Cornelius A1 - Findeiß, Sven A1 - Sharma, Cynthia M. A1 - Kuhfuss, Juliane A1 - Hoffmann, Steve A1 - Vogel, Jörg A1 - Stadler, Peter F. A1 - Bonas, Ulla T1 - Genome-wide transcriptome analysis of the plant pathogen Xanthomonas identifies sRNAs with putative virulence functions JF - Nucleic Acids Research N2 - The Gram-negative plant-pathogenic bacterium Xanthomonas campestris pv. vesicatoria (Xcv) is an important model to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the interaction with the host. To gain insight into the transcriptome of the Xcv strain 85-10, we took a differential RNA sequencing (dRNA-seq) approach. Using a novel method to automatically generate comprehensive transcription start site (TSS) maps we report 1421 putative TSSs in the Xcv genome. Genes in Xcv exhibit a poorly conserved -10 promoter element and no consensus Shine-Dalgarno sequence. Moreover, 14% of all mRNAs are leaderless and 13% of them have unusually long 5'-UTRs. Northern blot analyses confirmed 16 intergenic small RNAs and seven cis-encoded antisense RNAs in Xcv. Expression of eight intergenic transcripts was controlled by HrpG and HrpX, key regulators of the Xcv type III secretion system. More detailed characterization identified sX12 as a small RNA that controls virulence of Xcv by affecting the interaction of the pathogen and its host plants. The transcriptional landscape of Xcv is unexpectedly complex, featuring abundant antisense transcripts, alternative TSSs and clade-specific small RNAs. KW - SUBSP carotovora KW - regulatory RNA KW - gene-cluster KW - campestris PV vesicatoria KW - escherichia coli KW - determines pathgenicity KW - hypersensitive response KW - ralstonia solanacearum KW - extracellular enzymes KW - secretion systems KW - transcription initiation site KW - RNA sequence analyses KW - messanger RNA KW - plants KW - libraries KW - genome KW - genes KW - gene expression profiling KW - genetic transcription KW - northern blotting KW - untranslated regions KW - xanthomonas KW - xanthomonas campestris KW - bacteria KW - virulence KW - pathogenetic organism KW - RNA KW - small RNA KW - pathogenicity KW - type III secretion system pathways KW - maps KW - consesus KW - host (organism) KW - type III protein secretion system complex Y1 - 2011 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-131781 VL - 40 IS - 5 SP - 2020 EP - 2031 ER -