Thiouridine profiling of E. coli tRNA

The bacterial (or archaeal) transfer RNA modification 4-thiouriding is present in about 70% of the tRNA in E. coli. The crosslinking of the base within tRNA upon exposure to UVA radiation inhibits protein synthesis. The experiments in the study are aimed at site-specific profiling of s4U modification present in E. coli tRNA. The s4U was alkylated by iodoacetamide based reagent and the resulting size-selected RNA sample analyzed by Illumina sequencing. The data reveal a transition at positions that contain s4U, allowing site-selective profiling of s4U in tRNA.