Total cellular RNA provides a poor template for studying short-term changes in RNA synthesis and decay as well as the kinetics of RNA processing. Here, we describe metabolic labeling of newly transcribed RNA with 4-thiouridine followed by thiol-specific biotinylation and purification of newly transcribed RNA allowing to overcome these limitations.
This protocol describes the combinatorial use of ChIP-seq, 4sU-seq, total RNA-seq, and ribosome profiling for cell lines and primary cells. It enables tracking changes in transcription-factor binding, de novo transcription, RNA processing, turnover and translation over time, and displaying the overall course of events in activated and/or rapidly changing cells.