Optimising RNA extraction for paddy bulk soil samples for metatranscriptome sequencing

Abstract Objective Extraction of high-quality RNA is crucial for understanding the molecular dynamics of microbiomes in the growth and development of paddy plants. However, paddy soil poses challenges due to contaminants such as humic substances and its clayish nature, which lead to RNA adsorption a...

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Main Authors: Sumitra Sivaprakasam, Tan Yee Fan, Yukgehnaish Kumarasan, Erneeza Mohd Hata, Ganesan Vadamalai, Bent Petersen, Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén, Sivachandran Parimannan, Heera Rajandas
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:BMC Research Notes
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07342-9
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author Sumitra Sivaprakasam
Tan Yee Fan
Yukgehnaish Kumarasan
Erneeza Mohd Hata
Ganesan Vadamalai
Bent Petersen
Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén
Sivachandran Parimannan
Heera Rajandas
author_facet Sumitra Sivaprakasam
Tan Yee Fan
Yukgehnaish Kumarasan
Erneeza Mohd Hata
Ganesan Vadamalai
Bent Petersen
Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén
Sivachandran Parimannan
Heera Rajandas
author_sort Sumitra Sivaprakasam
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Objective Extraction of high-quality RNA is crucial for understanding the molecular dynamics of microbiomes in the growth and development of paddy plants. However, paddy soil poses challenges due to contaminants such as humic substances and its clayish nature, which lead to RNA adsorption and reduced yield. This study aimed to improve existing RNA extraction methods for bulk soil samples collected from a paddy field in Perak, Malaysia. We first evaluated different published protocols, selected the best based on RNA yield and quality, and further optimized it for highly pigmented soil samples. The resulting RNA was subjected to metatranscriptome sequencing, de novo assembly and annotation. Results Upon evaluation, the RNA extraction protocol by Peng et al., 2018 (method B3) was optimized by incorporating 20% and 30% PEG-based precipitation to remove carry-over pigmentation. Comparative testing showed that 20% PEG produced the highest quality RNA, yielding pigment-free RNA (> 100 ng/µl, integrity > 7, and A260/A280 of 2.02 ± 0.02). Metatranscriptome sequencing and analysis with Trinity, BUSCO, and Kraken2 confirmed superior quality and higher bacterial read assignment for RNA extracted with 20% PEG, highlighting its effectiveness for downstream microbial transcriptomic applications.
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spelling doaj-art-5770535e81b842ec84b973ba2f4fa48d2025-08-20T03:03:23ZengBMCBMC Research Notes1756-05002025-07-011811810.1186/s13104-025-07342-9Optimising RNA extraction for paddy bulk soil samples for metatranscriptome sequencingSumitra Sivaprakasam0Tan Yee Fan1Yukgehnaish Kumarasan2Erneeza Mohd Hata3Ganesan Vadamalai4Bent Petersen5Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén6Sivachandran Parimannan7Heera Rajandas8Centre of Excellence for Omics-Driven Computational Biodiscovery (COMBio), AIMST UniversityCentre of Excellence for Omics-Driven Computational Biodiscovery (COMBio), AIMST UniversityCentre of Excellence for Omics-Driven Computational Biodiscovery (COMBio), AIMST UniversityDepartment of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra MalaysiaDepartment of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra MalaysiaCentre of Excellence for Omics-Driven Computational Biodiscovery (COMBio), AIMST UniversityCentre of Excellence for Omics-Driven Computational Biodiscovery (COMBio), AIMST UniversityCentre of Excellence for Omics-Driven Computational Biodiscovery (COMBio), AIMST UniversityCentre of Excellence for Omics-Driven Computational Biodiscovery (COMBio), AIMST UniversityAbstract Objective Extraction of high-quality RNA is crucial for understanding the molecular dynamics of microbiomes in the growth and development of paddy plants. However, paddy soil poses challenges due to contaminants such as humic substances and its clayish nature, which lead to RNA adsorption and reduced yield. This study aimed to improve existing RNA extraction methods for bulk soil samples collected from a paddy field in Perak, Malaysia. We first evaluated different published protocols, selected the best based on RNA yield and quality, and further optimized it for highly pigmented soil samples. The resulting RNA was subjected to metatranscriptome sequencing, de novo assembly and annotation. Results Upon evaluation, the RNA extraction protocol by Peng et al., 2018 (method B3) was optimized by incorporating 20% and 30% PEG-based precipitation to remove carry-over pigmentation. Comparative testing showed that 20% PEG produced the highest quality RNA, yielding pigment-free RNA (> 100 ng/µl, integrity > 7, and A260/A280 of 2.02 ± 0.02). Metatranscriptome sequencing and analysis with Trinity, BUSCO, and Kraken2 confirmed superior quality and higher bacterial read assignment for RNA extracted with 20% PEG, highlighting its effectiveness for downstream microbial transcriptomic applications.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07342-9RNA extractionPaddyBulk soilMetatranscriptome sequencing
spellingShingle Sumitra Sivaprakasam
Tan Yee Fan
Yukgehnaish Kumarasan
Erneeza Mohd Hata
Ganesan Vadamalai
Bent Petersen
Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén
Sivachandran Parimannan
Heera Rajandas
Optimising RNA extraction for paddy bulk soil samples for metatranscriptome sequencing
BMC Research Notes
RNA extraction
Paddy
Bulk soil
Metatranscriptome sequencing
title Optimising RNA extraction for paddy bulk soil samples for metatranscriptome sequencing
title_full Optimising RNA extraction for paddy bulk soil samples for metatranscriptome sequencing
title_fullStr Optimising RNA extraction for paddy bulk soil samples for metatranscriptome sequencing
title_full_unstemmed Optimising RNA extraction for paddy bulk soil samples for metatranscriptome sequencing
title_short Optimising RNA extraction for paddy bulk soil samples for metatranscriptome sequencing
title_sort optimising rna extraction for paddy bulk soil samples for metatranscriptome sequencing
topic RNA extraction
Paddy
Bulk soil
Metatranscriptome sequencing
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s13104-025-07342-9
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