The majority of the identified sRNAs (.75%) were shorter than 200 nucleotides (length range 70-695 nucleotides). The average GC content of sRNA at 39.3% was slightly higher compared with the 37.4% GC content of the genome. Promoters within 50 nt upstream/downstream of the TAR boundaries were predicted for 68 sRNA. Similarly, Rho-independent transcription terminators were predicted within 50 bp upstream/downstream of 40 sRNA. Figure 3 shows the depth of coverage for one of the identified novel sRNA ''HS46'' viewed in the Artemis genome browser [22] .