( Science Foundation the laboratories o...)Delaware scientists make significant advance in study of small RNAs

Prior to their work, scientists worldwide in a painstakingly slow and labor-intensive process had documented about 6,000 small RNAs from the plant.

Meyers had been sequencing RNAs in rice and Arabidopsis using MPSS when Green approached him about the possibility of sequencing small RNAs using the MPSS technology.

"We knew MPSS could work in sequencing small RNAs but we were not sure how interesting the outcome would be," Meyers said. "But, as soon as we received the first complete data set, we quickly saw that it was far richer and more complex than anyone had previously generated for this type of molecule."

As the project progressed, the laboratories sequenced about 2.2 million small RNAs from the seedlings and flowers of the plant and identified more than 75,000 different small RNA sequences.

"Not only does MPSS provide very deep coverage of small RNAs, but it also provides quantitative information," Green said, adding that "this allowed many highly regulated small RNAs to be identified."

In addition to the sheer number of sequences identified, Meyers said "the biggest surprise in the findings is the diversity." He said that their data indicated that the regions of the chromosomes where people had speculated there was not much transcriptional activity turned out to be sites of tremendous amounts of small RNA activity.

Green said the implications of their findings would have a vital impact on future research by both their laboratories and those at other institutions. "What we found is just the beginning because the ramifications go way beyond that," she said. "Much of the future excitement will result from different laboratories testing new ideas after looking at the data for their favorite genes or chr
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Source:University of Delaware