Article abstract
Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 16, 840 - 846 (2009)
Published online: 20 July 2009 | doi:10.1038/nsmb.1631
Coding sequence targeting by MicC RNA reveals bacterial mRNA silencing downstream of translational initiation
Verena Pfeiffer1, Kai Papenfort1, Sacha Lucchini2, Jay C D Hinton2,3 & Jörg Vogel1
Abstract
Bacterial small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) generally recognize target mRNAs in the 5' region to prevent 30S ribosomes from initiating translation. It was thought that the mRNA coding sequence (CDS) was refractory to sRNA-mediated repression, because elongating 70S ribosomes have an efficient RNA helicase activity that prevents stable target pairing. We report that the Hfq-associated MicC sRNA silences Salmonella typhimurium ompD mRNA via a 
12-bp RNA duplex within the CDS (codons 23–26) that is essential and sufficient for repression. MicC does not inhibit translational initiation at this downstream position but instead acts by accelerating RNase E–dependent ompD mRNA decay. We propose an alternative gene-silencing pathway within bacterial CDS wherein sRNAs repress targets by endonucleolytic mRNA destabilization rather than by the prototypical inhibition of translational initiation. The discovery of CDS targeting markedly expands the sequence space for sRNA target predictions in bacteria.
- Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, RNA Biology Group, Berlin, Germany.
- Institute of Food Research, Norwich, UK.
- Deparment of Microbiology, Moyne Institute of Preventive Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland.
Correspondence to: Jörg Vogel1 e-mail: vogel@mpiib-berlin.mpg.de
MORE ARTICLES LIKE THIS
These links to content published by NPG are automatically generated.
NEWS AND VIEWS
Kill the messenger: bacterial antisense RNA promotes mRNA decayNature Structural & Molecular Biology News and Views (01 Aug 2009)
RESEARCH
Small RNA-induced differential degradation of the polycistronic mRNA iscRSUAThe EMBO Journal Article (03 Jun 2009)
Regulation of gene expression by small non-coding RNAs: a quantitative viewMolecular Systems Biology Article (25 Sep 2007)
See all 4 matches for Research
