Short and Long RNA sequencing of human mature erythrocytes. Homo sapiens

We employed high-throughput sequencing of both short (~18-24nt) and long (>200nt) RNAs in human erythrocytes. We obtained blood from five healthy individuals for the short (small) RNA-seq library preparations and blood from three individuals for the long RNA-seq library preparations. We identified an abundant, diverse population of RNAs. Both polyadenylated and nonpolyadenlated long RNAs were identified. Additionally, known and novel microRNAs were identified in the short RNA dataset using the probabalistic modeling algorithm miRDeep. These RNAs lend insight into erythrocyte biology and provide utility as potential biomarkers. To determine both shared and unique aspects of the erythrocyte long RNA transcriptome, we compared this transcriptome with that of the PBMC and CD34+ erythroid progenitor transcriptomes. Overall design: Sequencing of RNAs from mature erythrocytes of healthy individuals