Analysis of Stable Low Molecular Weight (LMW) RNA Profiles of Hydrocarbon Metabolizing Bacteria by Staircase Electrophoresis

A new approach for separating low‐molecular‐weight RNA molecules by staircase electrophoresis in non‐sequencing gels

“…In previous studies [5,6,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]] using sequencing gels, we have proved that: (i) the 5S rRNA zone (5S and 5.8S rRNA zone in fungi) is identical in species from the same genus and different in different genera; and (ii) the tRNA profiles are identical in strains from the same species and different in strains from different species from the same or different genera. These characteristics make the LMW RNA profiles molecular signatures for both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microorganisms [6].…”

“…Under these conditions, despite the smaller size of the gels and the lower values of the electric field, the intensity reaches higher values than in sequencing gels and the LMW RNA profiles are correctly separated in 5 h. The resolution of these profiles obtained in non-sequencing gels is similar to that obtained in sequencing ones facilitating the analysis of large populations of microorganisms in any laboratory. [6,[16][17][18] and archaea [6]. Moreover, the LMW RNA profiles are suitable for the analysis of large microbial populations [8,[12][13][14], and allow the detection of new species and genera [9,10,15].…”