Maureen K. Thomason

TL;DR: What is known about the functions and mechanisms of action for some of these antisense RNAs and important considerations for future research as well as potential applications are discussed.

TL;DR: A survey of the E. coli transcriptome carried out using a differential RNA sequencing approach, which can distinguish between primary and processed transcripts, and an automated prediction algorithm for transcriptional start sites (TSS), finding 14,868 TSS candidates, including 5,574 internal to annotated genes (iTSS) and 5,495 TSS corresponding to potential antisense RNAs (asRNAs).

TL;DR: It is proposed that, in response to limited nutrient availability, increasing levels of McaS modulate steps in the progression to a sessile lifestyle.

TL;DR: The key genes required for Bacillus anthracis to cause anthrax have been acquired recently by horizontal gene transfer and its chromosome does not appear to be exceptional on a macroscopic scale compared with close relatives.

TL;DR: The authors show that when bacteria adapt to one plasmid, they become generally permissive to plasmids carriage, and suggest that poor plasmID persistence can be caused by a high cost involving helicase–plasmid interactions that can be rapidly ameliorated.