Although more than a thousand bacterial genomes have been sequenced, our understanding of bacterial transcriptomes has lagged far behind. Transcript structure, operon linkages, and absolute mRNA abundance information all provide valuable insights into gene function and regulation, but these aspects of the prokaryotic transcriptome have only been explored on a large scale in a few instances. In this Pharma IQ interview, Dr. Nicholas H. Bergman, Principal Investigator and Genomics Team Leader at the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, Department of Homeland Security, USA, provides an insight to how the National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center is using a sequencing-based approach (RNA-Seq) in assembling the first comprehensive, single-nucleotide resolution view of a bacterial transcriptome. The overall results offer an unprecedented view of gene expression and regulation in a bacterial cell.

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