RNA-seq-based Transcriptome Analysis of A LuxR-like (DqsR) Mutant of Deinococcus radiodurans Under Oxidative and Non-oxidative Stresses.

Purpose: The goal of this study is to explore the role of DqsR of D. radiodurans R1 in transcriptome profiling under oxidative and non-oxidative stresses. Methods: mRNA profiles of wild-type D. radiodurans R1 and DqsR knockout strain with 100 mM H2O2 treatment or not were generated by deep sequencing using IIllumina Solexa. Results: A total of 17.03 million (M) and 19.61 M clean reads were obtained from the wild-type R1 and mutant strains; of these, 14.81 M and 16.78 M reads were mapped to the genome, respectively. A total of 427 genes were repressed and 396 genes were induced at least one-fold (log2) (p<0.05) in the mutant under non-oxidative stress conditions in transcription. Conclusions: Our study reveals that deletion of DqsR changes the transcriptional levels of a number of genes, both under normal conditions and oxidative stresses, including genes involved in translation, transcription, replication, recombination and repair, inorganic ion transport and metabolism, etc. Overall design: Examination of mRNA levels in wild-type D. radiodurans R1 and the DqsR mutant under oxidative and non-oxidative stresses by deep sequencing using Illumina Solexa.