tssRNA , a new type of transcription start site associated small RNA in bacteria

Researchers from Spain have identified a  new class of small RNA (~45 bases long)  in gram positive and negative bacteria. These tssRNAs are associated with RNA polymerase pausing some 45 bases downstream of the transcription start site and show global changes in expression during the growth cycle.  They are related to eukaryotic tiRNAs in their localization (transcription start sites, TSS) but not in their biogenesis. tssRNAs are generated at the same positions

SOMETHING UNUSUAL: RecA of Dinococcus radiodurans binds to double standed DNA first

The D. radiodurans RecA protein (361 amino acids, Mr 38,013) is 57% identical (72% similar) to the E. coli RecA protein (352 amino acids, Mr 37,842). In vitro, the protein promotes all of the key recombino genic activities of RecA-class recombinases. It forms filaments on DNA, hydrolyses ATP and dATP in a DNA-dependent fashion and promotes DNA-strand exchange. However, the D. radiodurans RecA protein has one distinct function. The DNA strand-exchange reactions of the E. coli RecA protein, and all other homologues examined to date, are ordered so that the single-stranded DNA is generally bound first, before the double-stranded DNA is bound.