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. 2003 Apr 1;31(7):1813-20.
doi: 10.1093/nar/gkg297.

A survey of small RNA-encoding genes in Escherichia coli

Ruth Hershberg  1 , Shoshy Altuvia, Hanah Margalit
Affiliations

A survey of small RNA-encoding genes in Escherichia coli

Ruth Hershberg et al. Nucleic Acids Res. .

Abstract

Small RNA (sRNA) molecules have gained much interest lately, as recent genome-wide studies have shown that they are widespread in a variety of organisms. The relatively small family of 10 known sRNA-encoding genes in Escherichia coli has been significantly expanded during the past two years with the discovery of 45 novel genes. Most of these genes are still uncharacterized and their cellular roles are unknown. In this survey we examined the sequence and genomic features of the 55 currently known sRNA-encoding genes in E.coli, attempting to identify their common characteristics. Such characterization is important for both expanding our understanding of this unique gene family and for improving the methods to predict and identify sRNA-encoding genes based on genomic information.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Distribution of the sRNA-encoding genes along the E.coli genome. The origin and terminus of replication are indicated. sRNA genes on the leading and lagging strands are colored blue and red, respectively.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Length distribution of the 55 known sRNA genes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Base composition of the sRNAs for which a function has been assigned. dicF is not included as it originated from a phage and is expected to differ in its composition. sRNAs that were assigned a housekeeping function are colored red, while those with a regulatory function are colored blue.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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