High-throughput RNA sequencing of methanosarcina grown on methylated sulfur compounds. Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A

Methylated sulfur compounds, including dimethylsulfide (DMS), methylmercaptopropionic acid (MMPA) and methylsulfide (MeSH), are well-documented to play roles in global sulfur cycle and climate homeostasis, yet the molecular mechanisms of how they are metabolized by methanogens remain largely uncharacterized. Here, using high-throughtput sequencing of RNA (RNA-seq), we gained insight into how methanogens respond to methylated sulfur compounds at the transcriptional level. Overall design: The mRNA from wild-type of Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A grown on methylated sulfur compounds were harvested, sequenced and mapped to the genome. Then, we compared RNA-seq profiles to that grown on MeOH in search of unque genes.

甲基化硫化合物（methylated sulfur compounds）涵盖二甲基硫（dimethylsulfide，DMS）、甲基巯基丙酸（methylmercaptopropionic acid，MMPA）与甲基硫醚（methylsulfide，MeSH），已有充分研究证实其参与全球硫循环与气候稳态的维持，但产甲烷菌（methanogens）代谢这类化合物的分子机制仍未被广泛阐明。本研究借助RNA高通量测序（RNA-seq），解析了产甲烷菌在转录水平对甲基化硫化合物的响应模式。总体实验设计：采集以甲基化硫化合物为生长底物培养的野生型乙酸甲烷八叠球菌C2A（Methanosarcina acetivorans C2A）的信使RNA（mRNA），进行测序并将测序序列比对至其参考基因组。随后，将所得RNA测序转录谱与以甲醇（MeOH）为底物培养的样本转录谱进行对比，以筛选得到特异性表达基因。