New England Biolabs, Ipswich, Mass, has expanded its NEBNext Ultra II NGS library preparation product portfolio to include kits for RNA. The strand-specific NEBNext Ultra II directional RNA library prep kit and the nondirectional NEBNext Ultra II RNA library prep kit are both designed for Illumina next-generation sequencing systems, and substantially improve upon their predecessors. The kits are compatible with poly(A) mRNA isolation and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) depletion, and libraries can be constructed from a substantially broader input range (5 ng to 1 µg of total RNA) at high yields. The NEBNext Ultra II workflows include new reagents, combined steps, and minimized cleanup. NEB’s protocols for constructing RNA libraries with Ultra II, including rRNA depletion or poly(A) mRNA enrichment, require less than 30 minutes of hands-on time and can be finished in approximately 6 hours. For more information, visit New England Biolabs.