This work was supported by the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and Paris-Sud University. All library preparation, Illumina sequencing and bioinformatics analyses for this study were performed at the I2BC Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) facility. The members of the I2BC NGS facility are acknowledged for critical reading of the manuscript and helpful suggestions.

1. Isolation of small RNAs
<ol>
	<li>Extract total RNA using phenol-based reagents or any other method. Verify if the RNA is of good quality.</li>
	<li>Pre-run a 15% TBE-urea gel (see Table of Materials) for 15 min at 200 V.</li>
	<li>While the gel is pre-running, mix 5-20 &#181;g of total RNA in a 5-15 &#181;L volume with an equal volume of formamide loading dye (see Table of Materials; 95% deionized formamide, 0.025% bromophenol blue, 0.025% xylene cyanol, 5 mM EDTA pH 8) in a 200 &#...

<ol>
	<li>Ghildiyal, M., Zamore, P. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Small+silencing+RNAs:+an+expanding+universe.">Small silencing RNAs: an expanding universe.</a> Nature Reviews Genetics. 10, 94-108 (2009).</li><li>Chang, T. C., Mendell, J. T. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=microRNAs+in+vertebrate+physiology+and+human+disease.">microRNAs in vertebrate physiology and human disease.</a> Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics. 8, 215-239 (2007).</li><li>Zhuang, F., Fuchs, R. T., Robb, G. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Small+RNA+expression+profiling+by+high-throughput+sequencing:+implications+of+enzymatic+manipulation.">Small RNA expression profiling by high-throughput sequencing: implications of enzymatic manipulation.</a> Journal of Nucleic Acids. 2012, 360358 (2012).</li><li>van Dijk, E. L., Jaszczyszyn, Y., Thermes, C. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Library+preparation+methods+for+next-generation+sequencing:+tone+down+the+bias.">Library preparation methods for next-generation sequencing: tone down the bias.</a> Experimental Cell Research. 322, 12-20 (2014).</li><li>Munafo, D. B., Robb, G. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Optimization+of+enzymatic+reaction+conditions+for+generating+representative+pools+of+cDNA+from+small+RNA.">Optimization of enzymatic reaction conditions for generating representative pools of cDNA from small RNA.</a> RNA. 16, 2537-2552 (2010).</li><li>Hafner, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=RNA-ligase-dependent+biases+in+miRNA+representation+in+deep-sequenced+small+RNA+cDNA+libraries.">RNA-ligase-dependent biases in miRNA representation in deep-sequenced small RNA cDNA libraries.</a> RNA. 17, 1697-1712 (2011).</li><li>Sorefan, K., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Reducing+ligation+bias+of+small+RNAs+in+libraries+for+next+generation+sequencing.">Reducing ligation bias of small RNAs in libraries for next generation sequencing.</a> Silence. 3, 4 (2012).</li><li>Sun, G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+bias-reducing+strategy+in+profiling+small+RNAs+using+Solexa.">A bias-reducing strategy in profiling small RNAs using Solexa.</a> RNA. 17, 2256-2262 (2011).</li><li>Jayaprakash, A. D., Jabado, O., Brown, B. D., Sachidanandam, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Identification+and+remediation+of+biases+in+the+activity+of+RNA+ligases+in+small-RNA+deep+sequencing.">Identification and remediation of biases in the activity of RNA ligases in small-RNA deep sequencing.</a> Nucleic Acids Research. 39, 141 (2011).</li><li>Zhuang, F., Fuchs, R. T., Sun, Z., Zheng, Y., Robb, G. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Structural+bias+in+T4+RNA+ligase-mediated+3'-adapter+ligation.">Structural bias in T4 RNA ligase-mediated 3'-adapter ligation.</a> Nucleic Acids Research. 40, 54 (2012).</li><li>Fuchs, R. T., Sun, Z., Zhuang, F., Robb, G. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Bias+in+ligation-based+small+RNA+sequencing+library+construction+is+determined+by+adaptor+and+RNA+structure.">Bias in ligation-based small RNA sequencing library construction is determined by adaptor and RNA structure.</a> PLoS One. 10, 0126049 (2015).</li><li>Dard-Dascot, C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Systematic+comparison+of+small+RNA+library+preparation+protocols+for+next-generation+sequencing.">Systematic comparison of small RNA library preparation protocols for next-generation sequencing.</a> BMC Genomics. 19, 118 (2018).</li><li>Van Nieuwerburgh, F., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Quantitative+bias+in+Illumina+TruSeq+and+a+novel+post+amplification+barcoding+strategy+for+multiplexed+DNA+and+small+RNA+deep+sequencing.">Quantitative bias in Illumina TruSeq and a novel post amplification barcoding strategy for multiplexed DNA and small RNA deep sequencing.</a> PLoS One. 6, 26969 (2011).</li><li>Harrison, B., Zimmerman, S. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Polymer-stimulated+ligation:+enhanced+ligation+of+oligo-+and+polynucleotides+by+T4+RNA+ligase+in+polymer+solutions.">Polymer-stimulated ligation: enhanced ligation of oligo- and polynucleotides by T4 RNA ligase in polymer solutions.</a> Nucleic Acids Research. 12, 8235-8251 (1984).</li><li>Song, Y., Liu, K. J., Wang, T. H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Elimination+of+ligation+dependent+artifacts+in+T4+RNA+ligase+to+achieve+high+efficiency+and+low+bias+microRNA+capture.">Elimination of ligation dependent artifacts in T4 RNA ligase to achieve high efficiency and low bias microRNA capture.</a> PLoS One. 9, 94619 (2014).</li><li>Zhang, Z., Lee, J. E., Riemondy, K., Anderson, E. M., Yi, R. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=High-efficiency+RNA+cloning+enables+accurate+quantification+of+miRNA+expression+by+deep+sequencing.">High-efficiency RNA cloning enables accurate quantification of miRNA expression by deep sequencing.</a> Genome Biology. 14, 109 (2013).</li><li>Barberan-Soler, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Decreasing+miRNA+sequencing+bias+using+a+single+adapter+and+circularization+approach.">Decreasing miRNA sequencing bias using a single adapter and circularization approach.</a> Genome Biology. 19, 105 (2018).</li><li>Chen, Y. R., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+cost-effective+method+for+Illumina+small+RNA-Seq+library+preparation+using+T4+RNA+ligase+1+adenylated+adapters.">A cost-effective method for Illumina small RNA-Seq library preparation using T4 RNA ligase 1 adenylated adapters.</a> Plant Methods. 8, 41 (2012).</li><li>Martin, M. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Cutadapt+removes+adapter+sequences+from+high-throughput+sequencing+reads.">Cutadapt removes adapter sequences from high-throughput sequencing reads.</a> EMBnet. , (2011).</li><li>Langmead, B., Trapnell, C., Pop, M., Salzberg, S. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Ultrafast+and+memory-efficient+alignment+of+short+DNA+sequences+to+the+human+genome.">Ultrafast and memory-efficient alignment of short DNA sequences to the human genome.</a> Genome Biology. 10, 25 (2009).</li><li>Shore, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Small+RNA+Library+Preparation+Method+for+Next-Generation+Sequencing+Using+Chemical+Modifications+to+Prevent+Adapter+Dimer+Formation.">Small RNA Library Preparation Method for Next-Generation Sequencing Using Chemical Modifications to Prevent Adapter Dimer Formation.</a> PLoS One. 11, 0167009 (2016).</li></ol>

Small RNA library preparation remains challenging due to bias, mainly introduced during adapter ligation steps. RNAs with a 2&#39;-OMe modification at their 3&#39;&#160;end such as plant miRNAs, piRNA in insects, nematodes and mammals, and small interfering RNAs (siRNA) in insects and plants are particularly difficult to study because the 2&#39;-OMe modification inhibits 3&#39;&#160;adapter ligation. A number of solutions have been proposed in the literature to improve sRNA library preparation protocols, but most commerc...

Small RNAs (sRNAs) are involved in the control of a diversity of biological processes1. Eukaryotic regulatory sRNAs are typically between 20 and 30 nt in size; the three major types are microRNAs (miRNA), piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNA) and small interfering RNAs (siRNA). Aberrant miRNA expression levels have been implicated in a variety of diseases2. This underscores the importance of miRNAs in health and disease and the requirement for accurate, quantitative research tools to detect sRNAs in general.
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a widely used method to study sRNAs. Main advantages of NGS as compared with other approaches, such as quantitative PCR or microarray techniques (qPCR), are that it does not need a priori knowledge of the sRNA sequences and can therefore be used to discover novel RNAs, and in addition it suffers less of background signal and saturation effects. Further, it can detect single nucleotide differences and has a higher throughput than microarrays. However, NGS also has some drawbacks; the cost of a sequencing run remains relatively high and the multistep process required to convert a sample into a library for sequencing may introduce biases. In a typical sRNA library preparation process, a 3&#39;&#160;adapter is first ligated to the sRNA (often gel-purified from total RNA) using a truncated version of RNA ligase 2 (RNL2) and a preadenylated 3&#39;&#160;adapter (Figure 1) in the absence of ATP. This increases the efficiency of sRNA-adapter ligation and reduces the formation of side reactions such as sRNA circularization or concatemerization. Subsequently, a 5&#8217; adapter is ligated by RNA ligase 1 (RNL1), followed by reverse transcription (RT) and PCR amplification. All these steps may introduce bias3,4. Consequently, read numbers may not reflect actual sRNA expression levels leading to artificial, method-dependent expression patterns. Specific sRNAs may be either over- or underrepresented in a library, and strongly underrepresented sRNAs may escape detection. The situation is particularly complicated with plant miRNAs, siRNAs in insects and plants, and piRNAs in insects, nematodes and mammals, in which the 3&#39;&#160;terminal nucleotide has a 2&#39;-O-methyl (2&#39;-OMe) modification1. This modification strongly inhibits 3&#39;&#160;adapter ligation5, making library preparation for these types of RNA a difficult task.
Previous work demonstrated that adapter ligation introduces serious bias, due to RNA sequence/structure effects6,7,8,9,10,11. Steps downstream of adapter ligation such as reverse transcription and PCR do not significantly contribute to bias6,11,12. Ligation bias is likely due to the fact that adapter molecules with a given sequence will interact with sRNA molecules in the reaction mixture to form co-folds, that may either lead to favorable or unfavorable configurations for ligation (Figure 2). Data from Sorefan et al7 suggest that RNL1 prefers a single stranded context, while RNL2 prefers a double strand for ligation. The fact that the adapter/sRNA co-fold structures are determined by the specific adapter and sRNA sequences explains why specific sRNA are over- or underrepresented with a given adapter set. It is also important to note that within a series of sRNA libraries to be compared, the same adapter sequences should be used. Indeed, it has previously been observed that changing adapters by the introduction of different barcode sequences alters miRNA profiles in sequencing libraries9,13.
Randomization of adapter sequences near the ligation junction likely reduces these biases. Sorefan and colleagues7 used adapters with 4 random nucleotides at their extremities, designated &#34;High Definition&#34;&#160;(HD) adapters, and showed that the use of these adapters lead to libraries that better reflect true sRNA expression levels. More recent work confirmed these observations and revealed that the randomized region does not need to be adjacent to the ligation junction11. This novel type of adapters was named &#34;MidRand&#34;&#160;adapters. Together, these results demonstrate that improved adapter design can reduce bias.
Instead of modifying the adapters, bias can be suppressed through the optimisation of reaction conditions. Polyethylene glycol (PEG), a macromolecular crowding agent known to increase ligation efficiency14, has been shown to significantly reduce bias15,16. Based on these results, several &#34;low bias&#34;&#160;kits appeared on the market. These include kits that use PEG in the ligation reactions, either in combination with classical adapters or HD adapters. Other kits avoid ligation altogether, and use 3&#39;&#160;polyadenylation and template switching for 3&#39;&#160;and 5&#39;&#160;adapter addition, respectively12. In yet another strategy, 3&#39;&#160;adapter ligation is followed by a circularization step, thus omitting 5&#39;&#160;adapter ligation17.
In a previous study, we searched for a sRNA library preparation protocol with the lowest possible levels of bias and the best detection of 2&#39;-OMe RNAs12. We tested some of the above-mentioned &#39;low bias&#39;&#160;kits, which had a better detection of 2&#39;-OMe RNAs than the standard protocol (TS). Surprisingly however, upon modification (the use of randomized adapters, PEG in the ligation reactions and removal of excess 3&#39;&#160;adapter by purification) the latter outperformed the other protocols for the detection of 2&#39;-OMe RNAs. Here, we describe in detail a protocol based on the TS protocol, &#39;TS5&#39;, which had the best overall detection of 2&#39;-OMe RNAs. The protocol can be followed using reagents from the TS kit and one reagent from the &#39;Nf&#39;&#160;kit or, to save money, using homemade reagents, with equal performance. We also provide a detailed protocol for the purification of sRNA from total RNA and the preparation of preadenylated 3&#39;&#160;adapter. &#160;

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width:873px;" width="874">
	<tbody>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">2100 Bioanalyzer Instrument&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Agilent</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">G2939BA</td>
			<td style="width:172px;"></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Acid-Phenol:Chloroform, pH 4.5 (with IAA, 125:24:1)</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">AM9720</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Adenosine 5&#39;-Triphosphate (ATP)</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Nex England Biolabs</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">P0756S</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Agencourt AMPure XP beads</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Beckman Coulter</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">A63880</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Bioanalyzer High Sensitivity DNA Kit</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Agilent</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">5067-4626</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Bioanalyzer Small RNA Kit</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Agilent</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">5067-1548</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Corning Costar Spin-X centrifuge tube filters</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>CLS8162-96EA</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Dark Reader transilluminator</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">various suppiers</td>
			<td style="width:169px;"></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">HotStart PCR Kit, with dNTPs</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Kapa Biosystems</td>
			<td>KK2501</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">NEXTflex small RNA-seq V3 kit</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">BIOO Scientific</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">NOVA-5132-05</td>
			<td>optional</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Novex TBE gels 6%</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td>EC6265BOX</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Novex TBE Urea gels 15%</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td>EC6885BOX</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">QIAquick Nucleotide Removal Kit</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Qiagen&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">28304</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Qubit 4 Quantitation Starter Kit</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">Q33227</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">Qubit ssDNA Assay Kit</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">Q10212</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="25">
			<td height="25" style="height:25px;width:374px;">RNA Gel Loading Dye (2X)</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">R0641</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">RNA Gel Loading Dye (2X)</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">R0641</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">RNase Inhibitor, Murine&#160;</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Nex England Biolabs</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">M0314S</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">SuperScript IV Reverse Transcriptase</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">18090200</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="26">
			<td height="26" style="height:28px;width:374px;">SYBR Gold Nucleic Acid Gel Stain</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">S11494</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">T4 RNA Ligase 1 (ssRNA Ligase)</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Nex England Biolabs</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">M0204S</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">T4 RNA Ligase 2, truncated</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Nex England Biolabs</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">M0242S</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">TrackIt 50 bp DNA ladder</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">10488043</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">TruSeq Small RNA Library Prep Kit</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Illumina</td>
			<td>RS-200-0012/24/36/48</td>
			<td>optional</td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">UltraPure Glycogen</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td>10814010</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">XCell SureLock Mini-Cell</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">EI0001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;">XCell SureLock Mini-Cell</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">ThermoFisher</td>
			<td>EI0001</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;">ZR small RNA ladder</td>
			<td style="width:159px;">Zymo Research</td>
			<td style="width:169px;">R1090</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr height="21">
			<td height="21" style="height:21px;width:374px;"></td>
			<td style="width:159px;"></td>
			<td style="width:169px;"></td>
			<td>the last two numbers correspond to the set of indexes</td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

improving small rna-seq: less bias and better detection of 2'-o-methyl rnas

The study of small RNAs (sRNAs) by next-generation sequencing (NGS) is challenged by bias issues during library preparation. Several types of sRNA such as plant microRNAs (miRNAs) carry a 2&#39;-O-methyl (2&#39;-OMe) modification at their 3&#39;&#160;terminal nucleotide. This modification adds another difficulty as it inhibits 3&#39;&#160;adapter ligation. We previously demonstrated that modified versions of the &#39;TruSeq (TS)&#39;&#160;protocol have less bias and an improved detection of 2&#39;-OMe RNAs. Here we describe in detail protocol &#39;TS5&#39;, which showed the best overall performance. TS5 can be followed either using homemade reagents or reagents from the TS kit, with equal performance.

Critical steps are the isolation of the small RNA fraction of the starting total RNA material (Figure 3) and the desired final library product (Figure 4). Both steps involve polyacrylamide gel purification; small RNA is isolated from 15% TBE urea gels, while the final libraries are isolated from 6% native TBE gels. Small RNA isolated from gel can be analyzed on a small RNA capillary electrophoresis chip (Table of Materials; ...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Improving Small RNA-seq: Less Bias and Better Detection of 2'-O-Methyl RNAs at JoVE.com

Improving Small RNA-seq: Less Bias and Better Detection of 2'-O-Methyl RNAs

We present a detailed small RNA library reparation protocol with less bias than standard methods and an increased sensitivity for 2&#39;-O-methyl RNAs. This protocol can be followed using homemade reagents to save cost or using kits for convenience.

The study of small RNAs (sRNAs) by next-generation sequencing (NGS) is challenged by bias issues during library preparation. Several types of sRNA such as ...

Small RNA regulate many biological processes. It is therefore important to develop sensitive and unbiased methods to detect them. Our protocol protocol provides steps forward towards this goal.Our protocol suffers from fewer bias issues, than classical small RNA library appropriation methods, and importantly it allows a more sensitive detections of two prong or meso-RNAs. Such as plant micro-RNAs. After extracting total RNA according to standard protocols.Pre run a 15%TBE urea gel for fifteen minutes at 200 volts. And mix five to twenty micrograms of total RNA, in a five to fifteen microliter volume, with an equal volume of formamide loading dye in a 200 microliter tube. After five minutes at 65 degree Celsius, in a thermocycler with a heated lid, immediate place the tubes on ice and load the latter and sample on the gel with at least one lane between them.Then run the gel at 200 volts until the bromophenol has migrated about two-thirds of the length of the gel. To load the RNA, first puncture the bottom of a nuclease free 0.5 milliliter micro centrifuge tube, with a 21 gauge needle, and place the punctured tube in a nuclease free round bottom two milliliter micro centrifuge tube. Next, incubate the gel at room temperature with nucleic acid gel stain in water for ten to fifteen minutes, before viewing the gel on a transilluminator.Cut out the sample RNA between 17 and 29 nucleotide ladder bands, and transfer the gel piece into the punctured tube. Spin down the gel in a micro centrifuge at maximum speed for two minutes, and remove the 0.5 milliliter tube which should now be empty. Add 300 microliters of nuclease free 0.3 molars sodium chloride to the crushed gel, and place the tube on a rotator for at least two hours at room temperature.At the end of the end of the incubation, transfer the crushed gel pieces suspension to a spin column, and centrifuge for two minutes at maximum speed in the micro centrifuge. For unligated three prime adaptor elimination, thoroughly mix ten microliters nuclease free water with the extracted RNA sample, and add six microliters of three molars sodium acetate with mixing. Add 40 microliters of magnetic purification beads, and 60 microliters of isopropanol to the sample with thorough mixing.And incubate the suspension for five minutes at room temperature. At the end of the incubation, place the sample onto a magnetic rack, until the solution becomes clear. Remove the clear supernatant, and add 180 microliters of freshly prepared 80%ethanol to the beads.After 30 seconds, remove the ethanol and briefly spin the tube. Remove any residual liquid that may have collected at the bottom of the tube, and allow the beads to dry for two minutes before re-suspending the sample in 22 microliters of 10 millimolar Tris. After two minutes magnetize the sample until the solution appears clear.Next, mix 20 microliters of clear supernatant with six microliters of three molar sodium acetate in a new tube, and add 40 microliters of magnetic beads and 60 microliters of 100%isopropanol. After five minutes at room temperature, magnetize the sample until the solution appears clear, before removing the supernatant. Treat the sample with 180 microliters of freshly prepared 80%ethanol for 30 seconds before removing the ethanol spinning down the sample, and removing any residual liquid that has accumulated at the bottom of the tube.After allowing the beads to dry for two minutes, re-suspend them in 10 microliters of nuclease free water, for two minutes, before magnetizing the sample until the solution becomes clear. Then, transfer nine microliters of supernatant to a new tube and add one microliter of T4 RNA ligase buffer, and one micrcoliter of water to the sample. For gel purification, run five, ten, and twenty microliters of PCR product on a native 6%TBE gel for about one hour.Incubate the completed gel with nucleic acid gel stain in water for ten to fifteen minutes, and view the gel on a transilluminator to allow extraction of the 150 base pair library band. As it is difficult to isolate the 150 base pair band representing them, these are our library, due to the presence of closely migrating side products you will need to cut the gel very carefully. Then isolate the RNA as just demonstrated.For raw sequence file modification, download the fastq sequence files generated during the sequencing run, and preform demultiplexing with bcl2fastq2 as necessary. Remove adaptor sequences using cutodapt, and use the command as demonstrated. Use seqtk as indicated to remove the terminal random nucleotides in the sequences reads.Then use the awk command as indicated, to discard the sequences shorter than 10 nucleotides. To map the trimmed sequences, open miRBase and download the mature fa file. Use the command as indicated to replace U residues with T residues, to yield a complete list of all the micro RNAs in the database, originating from a variety of organisms.Select the micro RNA sequences of the organism of interest, with the command as indicated, and map the reads to the file using bowtie2, allowing no mismatches. Use the tool to align the sequences reads to the database, requiring that a read maps entirely to a micro RNA of the database, with out any mismatches as indicated. Then use the command to discard the reads that did not align.After loading increasing amounts of a PCR amplified library onto a gel as demonstrated, the products corresponding to the expected size can be extracted. After elution, the purified library can be checked on a capillary gel electrophoresis chip. In addition to the expected 150 base pair product, and increasing proportion of a 130 base pair species corresponding to adapter dimers, are typically observed as increasing amount of PCR product are loaded.Similar results are obtained when libraries from a mix of synthetic small RNAs are prepared using reagents from kits, or other supplies. For comparison, previously published results for the same small RNA mix are shown. Here, a comparison for performance of protocol TS5 with the standard TS protocol for the detection of human unmodified and two prime O-methal modified plant micro RNAs is shown.The detection of two prime O-methal modified piRNAs in human samples was also tested. As observed TS5 preformed significantly better than TS for the detection of two prime O-methal RNAs, but not for unmodified RNAs. Prepare replicate libraries for each sample at different dates.Usually there is little variation among replicates made simultaneously, or there can be substantial variation among libraries prepared on different dates.

Improving Small RNA-seq: Less Bias and Better Detection of 2'-O-Methyl RNAs

Abstract