Reading between the Lines: Utilizing RNA-Seq Data for Global Analysis of sRNAs in Staphylococcus aureus.

Regulatory small RNAs (sRNAs) are known to play important roles in the Gram-positive bacterial pathogen ; however, their existence is often overlooked, primarily because sRNA genes are absent from genome annotation files. Consequently, transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq)-based experimental approaches, performed using standard genome annotation files as a reference, have likely overlooked data for sRNAs. Previously, we created an updated genome annotation file, which included annotations for 303 known sRNAs in USA300.

The Small RNA Teg41 Regulates Expression of the Alpha Phenol-Soluble Modulins and Is Required for Virulence in Staphylococcus aureus.

Small RNAs (sRNAs) remain an understudied class of regulatory molecules in bacteria in general and in Gram-positive bacteria in particular. In the major human pathogen , hundreds of sRNAs have been identified; however, only a few have been characterized in detail. In this study, we investigate the role of the sRNA Teg41 in virulence.