Transcription start sites are commonly used to locate promoter elements in bacterial genomes. TSS were previously studied one gene at a time, often through 5'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5'-RACE). This technique has now been adapted for high-throughput sequencing and can be used to precisely identify TSS in a genome-wide fashion for practically any bacterium, which greatly contributes to our understanding of gene regulatory networks in microorganisms.
Keywords: 5′-RACE; Genome wide; Next-generation sequencing; Promoter; RNA polymerase holoenzyme; RNA-seq; Rapid amplification of cDNA ends; Transcription; Transcription start site; Transcriptomics.