The secretion of biomolecules into the extracellular milieu is a common and well-conserved phenomenon in biology. In bacteria, secreted biomolecules are not only involved in intra-species communication but they also play roles in inter-kingdom exchanges and pathogenicity. To date, released products, such as small molecules, DNA, peptides, and proteins, have been well studied in bacteria. However, the bacterial extracellular RNA complement has so far not been comprehensively characterized. Here, we have analyzed, using a combination of physical characterization and high-throughput sequencing, the extracellular RNA complement of both outer membrane vesicle (OMV)-associated and OMV-free RNA of the enteric Gram-negative model bacterium Escherichia coli K-12 substrain MG1655 and have compared it to its intracellular RNA complement. Our results demonstrate that a large part of the extracellular RNA complement is in the size range between 15 and 40 nucleotides and is derived from specific intracellular RNAs. Furthermore, RNA is associated with OMVs and the relative abundances of RNA biotypes in the intracellular, OMV and OMV-free fractions are distinct. Apart from rRNA fragments, a significant portion of the extracellular RNA complement is composed of specific cleavage products of functionally important structural noncoding RNAs, including tRNAs, 4.5S RNA, 6S RNA, and tmRNA. In addition, the extracellular RNA pool includes RNA biotypes from cryptic prophages, intergenic, and coding regions, of which some are so far uncharacterised, for example, transcripts mapping to the fimA-fimL and ves-spy intergenic regions. Our study provides the first detailed characterization of the extracellular RNA complement of the enteric model bacterium E. coli. Analogous to findings in eukaryotes, our results suggest the selective export of specific RNA biotypes by E. coli, which in turn indicates a potential role for extracellular bacterial RNAs in intercellular communication.
Great efforts are being devoted to get a deeper understanding of disease-related dysregulations, which is central for introducing novel and more effective therapeutics in the clinics. However, most human diseases are highly multifactorial at the molecular level, involving dysregulation of multiple genes and interactions in gene regulatory networks. This issue hinders the elucidation of disease mechanism, including the identification of disease-causing genes and regulatory interactions. Most of current network-based approaches for the study of disease mechanisms do not take into account significant differences in gene regulatory network topology between healthy and disease phenotypes. Moreover, these approaches are not able to efficiently guide database search for connections between drugs, genes and diseases. We propose a differential network-based methodology for identifying candidate target genes and chemical compounds for reverting disease phenotypes. Our method relies on transcriptomics data to reconstruct gene regulatory networks corresponding to healthy and disease states separately. Further, it identifies candidate genes essential for triggering the reversion of the disease phenotype based on network stability determinants underlying differential gene expression. In addition, our method selects and ranks chemical compounds targeting these genes, which could be used as therapeutic interventions for complex diseases.
BackgroundSequencing-based analyses of low-biomass samples are known to be prone to misinterpretation due to the potential presence of contaminating molecules derived from laboratory reagents and environments. DNA contamination has been previously reported, yet contamination with RNA is usually considered to be very unlikely due to its inherent instability. Small RNAs (sRNAs) identified in tissues and bodily fluids, such as blood plasma, have implications for physiology and pathology, and therefore the potential to act as disease biomarkers. Thus, the possibility for RNA contaminants demands careful evaluation.ResultsHerein, we report on the presence of small RNA (sRNA) contaminants in widely used microRNA extraction kits and propose an approach for their depletion. We sequenced sRNAs extracted from human plasma samples and detected important levels of non-human (exogenous) sequences whose source could be traced to the microRNA extraction columns through a careful qPCR-based analysis of several laboratory reagents. Furthermore, we also detected the presence of artefactual sequences related to these contaminants in a range of published datasets, thereby arguing in particular for a re-evaluation of reports suggesting the presence of exogenous RNAs of microbial and dietary origin in blood plasma. To avoid artefacts in future experiments, we also devise several protocols for the removal of contaminant RNAs, define minimal amounts of starting material for artefact-free analyses, and confirm the reduction of contaminant levels for identification of bona fide sequences using ‘ultra-clean’ extraction kits.ConclusionThis is the first report on the presence of RNA molecules as contaminants in RNA extraction kits. The described protocols should be applied in the future to avoid confounding sRNA studies.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12915-018-0522-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Sequencing-based analyses of low-biomass samples are known to be prone to misinterpretation due to the potential presence of contaminating molecules derived from laboratory reagents and environments.Due to its inherent instability, contamination with RNA is usually considered to be unlikely. Here we report the presence of small RNA (sRNA) contaminants in widely used microRNA extraction kits and means for their depletion. Sequencing of sRNAs extracted from human plasma samples was performed and significant levels of non-human (exogenous) sequences were detected. The source of the most abundant of these sequences could be traced to the microRNA extraction columns by qPCRbased analysis of laboratory reagents. The presence of artefactual sequences originating from the confirmed contaminants were furthermore replicated in a range of published datasets. To avoid artefacts in future experiments, several protocols for the removal of the contaminants were elaborated, minimal amounts of starting material for artefact-free analyses were defined, and the reduction of contaminant levels for identification of bona fide sequences using 'ultra-clean' extraction kits was confirmed. In conclusion, this is the first report of the presence of RNA molecules as contaminants in laboratory reagents. The described protocols should be applied in the future to avoid confounding sRNA studies.
Sewage including liquids from household waste to industry and commerce effluent along with storm water runoff carries various contaminants including soil particles, heavy metals, organic compounds, animals waste, oils and grease which are required to be treated before they are discharged directly to the water into waterways. Various waste water treatment plants established in different part of Nepal include small to large scale treatment of waste discharge. The evaluation of all those plants by scientific mean was carried out for the recommend of standard of treatment plant suitable to the country. Among the plants under study, removal efficiency of TSS, TDS and TS was found highest in KU reed bed systems with 97.5, 74.3 and 95.6% respectively. Similarly, removal efficiency of chemical compounds such as NH3, N2, NO3 2-, Cl-, PO3 2- and COD were found highest in KU and DH reed bed system ranging from 98 to 33.3 % whereas BOD was found highest, 93.1 and 82.1% in HIDWTP and BASP respectively. pH and conductivity measurement and comparison indicates the requirement of continuous use and maintenance of the plant. This could be one of the major ways to inform the government about the maintenance, sustainability and importance of ongoing operation of waste water treatment plants of Nepal in cost effective manner.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njst.v12i0.6500 Nepal Journal of Science and Technology 12 (2011) 201-210
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