A refined Saccharomyces cerevisiae reference transcriptome from Direct RNA Sequencing, with a reusable pipeline for UTR annotation updates.

Direct RNA Sequencing refines the Saccharomyces cerevisiae transcriptome by adding UTRs to over 2,400 genes, improving boundary annotations by up to 28.9%.

• Why it matters: Accurate UTR boundaries are crucial for understanding mRNA regulation, but short-read sequencing leaves many transcripts without defined UTRs in densely packed genomes like S. cerevisiae.
• What they did: Using DRS, the study generated an updated reference transcriptome with boundary definitions for 5,682 genes and developed a reusable pipeline for UTR annotation updates, validated on multiple datasets.
• The result: The enhanced transcriptome enables more precise gene regulation studies and offers a tool for ongoing UTR annotation improvements, leading to better mapping and transcript signal detection.