Table 1.

Possible diagnostic biomarkers detected by transcriptomics.

Biomarker	Description	References
Antigens	Novel bacterial virulence factors can be identified by analysis of differentially expressed bacterial genes under infectious conditions. These antigens could evoke an immune response in the host that can be detected by immunological assays	[56,57]
Circulating, secreted host RNA (miRNA, lncRNA)	Extracellular RNA secreted in body fluids is easily accessible and very stable. Disease specific RNA signatures can be developed into diagnostic arrays, RT-qPCR tests or novel point-of-care tests	[58,59]
Blood cell-derived RNA	Infection may induce a specific immune-driven RNA expression profile in blood cells. These profiles can be traced by transcriptomics and developed into a biosignature-based test	[60,61,62,63]
Bacterial secreted RNA	Bacteria secrete RNA in extracellular vesicles that circulate in the host. When these RNAs can consistently be detected, diagnostic assays could be developed that directly recognize an infection	[54,64]