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Nature Reviews Genetics 10, 426–427 (1 July 2009) | doi:10.1038/nrg2616

Small RNAs: Microbial metatranscriptomics goes deep

Mary Muers

Short untranslated transcripts regulate many biologically important processes in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, but most studies of small RNAs (sRNAs) in microorganisms have been limited to cultured species. A transcriptomic analysis of natural microbial communities in the ocean has now revealed a myriad of novel sRNA families, giving new insights into the diversity and function of non-coding transcripts.