Abstract
More than 80 non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) have been identified in Escherichia coli while a few ncRNAs are known in cyanobacteria. In our laboratory, the entire genome of a unicellular cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 6301 (hereafter PCC 6301) was sequenced and 2,525 potential protein-coding genes and 55 RNA genes were assigned. To identify novel ncRNA genes in the PCC 6301 genome, we initially compared the intergenic regions (IGRs) of the PCC 6301 genome with three freshwater cyanobacteria, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 and Thermosynechococcus elongatus BP-1 genomes. Then, we performed northern blot analysis to detect ncRNAs. In this analysis, we found seven small transcripts in the 33 IGRs and further characterized them.
