Transcription profiling by high throughput sequencing of Schizosaccharomyces pombe transcriptome during both proliferation and quiescence. Transcription profiling by high throughput sequencing of Schizosaccharomyces pombe transcriptome during both proliferation and quiescence

Data on absolute molecule numbers are rare but will empower the modeling, understanding and comparison of cellular functions and biological systems. We quantified transcriptomes and proteomes in fission yeast during both proliferation and quiescence. This rich resource provides the first comprehensive reference for all RNA and most protein concentrations in a eukaryote under key physiological conditions. This integrated dataset will support quantitative biology and afford unique biological insights into cell regulation. While mRNAs are typically expressed in a narrow range above 1 copy/cell, most long non-coding RNAs, except for a specific subset, are strongly repressed below 1 copy/cell. Cell cycle-regulated transcription tunes mRNA numbers to phase-specific requirements but can also lead to switch-like expression. Proteins greatly exceed mRNAs in abundance and dynamic range, and their numbers scales with functional demands. Upon transition to quiescence, the proteome composition changes substantially but, in stark contrast to mRNAs, proteins do not uniformly decrease but scale with cell volume.