Detection and Quantification of Small Noncoding RNAs in Marine Diatoms

Endogenous small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) are a large family of essential regulators of gene expression in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Various types of sRNAs with different size and mapping to different genome locations have been recently identified in diatoms, a successful group of phytoplankton in the marine environment. However, their biogenesis and regulatory function are still largely unknown and unexplored in these microalgae, also due to the lack of methods for their experimental analysis. Herein, we present a point-by-point description of the protocols for detection and quantification of sRNAs by Northern-blot analysis and quantitative stem-loop RT-PCR, established in the diatom molecular model specie Phaeodactylum tricornutum.