Total RNA was extracted from 2 mL of Virgibacillus flavescens DJP025-4 cultures collected at the mid-exponential growth phase using the RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, UK) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Residual genomic DNA was removed using the TURBO DNA-free Kit (Invitrogen, UK). RNA concentration and integrity were assessed using a Qubit 3.0 Fluorometer (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and an Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies), respectively. After rRNA depletion, sequencing libraries were prepared by Macrogen (Seoul, South Korea) using the TruSeq Stranded mRNA Library Preparation Kit (Illumina).