Rifampicin time-series of Nostoc sp. PCC 7120 under different nitrogen conditions

The interaction between antisense RNAs or small non-coding RNAs and their mRNA targets can alter their half-life, thereby playing a role in the adaptation to different physiological conditions. Here, we have used rifampicin, an antibiotic that inhibits transcription initiation, to estimate the half-life of all transcripts in Nostoc sp.

PCC 7120, a heterocyst-forming cyanobacterium. The analysis of the rifampicin time-series under two different growth conditions has revealed new layers of post-transcriptional regulation that may include transcriptional interference events (collisions between two elongating RNA polymerases).