Talk:Bacterial small RNA

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Critique of Bacterial small RNA article:

- This article is well organized and focused, but the article is short so there are only a few subheadings for organization. It's broken down into origin, function, target prediction, and databases, which flows well and transitions from a broad overview to more specific details.

- Most of the information in the article is understandable for a general audience, and jargon is avoided. However, the "origin" section uses terms that most would be unfamiliar with (nucleolytic cleavage, IGRs) and does not define them.

- The material provided in this article is limited and only represents a partial view of bacterial small RNAs. Specifically, the "Function" section consists mostly of examples of sRNA targets, not the actual mechanism by which sRNA regulate gene expression. There is a small sentence that describes sRNA binding mechanisms, but it is short and does not include all the ways sRNAs interact with their targets. The origin section does not include any information on the history or initial discovery of bacterial sRNAs.

- References are provided for each statement in the article, and no assumptions are made.

- The content can be improved in most of the sections. The lead section is short but one long sentence that is difficult to read. The lead section also has a confusing fact about "soluble RNAs" that would be better served in the origin section. There is also one inaccuracy in the lead section, as small RNAs can be larger than 500 nt, or smaller than 50 nt. The origin section needs information on the initial and significant discoveries in the sRNA field. It also may be valuable to include information of sRNA homologues in other species. The function section needs in-depth information on binding/regulatory mechanisms of sRNAS, not just examples of sRNA targets.

- There is an introduction in this article, but it is short and needs to be organized more clearly. The soluble RNA sentence needs to be moved and a quick overview of sRNA functions/history needs to be added to be a true overview of the article. It's also a little heavy on examples of sRNAs, which are provided later on in the article. The second sentence of the intro is also very long and has many references at the end, which makes it dense and difficult to understand.

- This article is organized into six headings, and one heading has six subheadings. This organization is sufficient and will probably be maintained. More subheadings need to be added to the Function section when more information on sRNA interaction mechanisms is added.

- To meet the basic standards of an article, there is nothing missing in this article. References are provided at the end appropriately, and there are an appropriate number of references for the length of the article. There is missing information is many of the sections, addressed above. There are no images in this article. It may be helpful to readers to include a stem-loop structure of a sRNA, as "highly structured and containing several stem loops" is referenced in the first sentence. It may also be helpful to provide a diagram of different sRNA binding mechanisms.

- The coverage in this article is neutral. Most everything stated is a scientifically-supported fact. However, there is a small mention of computer programs that are used to predict sRNA targets where these programs are called "sensible." I believe this may be the author's opinion of these programs, as many also believe these programs are inaccurate and not very useful for predicting targets. Removing the word sensible here removes this issue.

- The references in this article are extremely reliable. Each reference provided is a scientific article or database published in a reputable peer-reviewed journal. Rz537816 (talk) 11:19, 26 October 2017 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Rz537816.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 11:40, 18 January 2022 (UTC)