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Lyu C, Hu H, Cai L, He S, Xu X, Zhou G, Wang H. A trans-acting sRNA SaaS targeting hilD, cheA and csgA to inhibit biofilm formation of S. Enteritidis. J Adv Res 2024:S2090-1232(24)00232-7. [PMID: 38852803 DOI: 10.1016/j.jare.2024.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 06/04/2024] [Indexed: 06/11/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Salmonella Enteritidis has brought great harm to public health, animal production and food safety worldwide. The biofilm formed by Salmonella Enteritidis plays a critical role in microbial cross-contamination. Small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) have been demonstrated to be responsible for regulating the formation of biofilm. The sRNA SaaS has been identified previously, that promotes pathogenicity by regulating invasion and virulence factors. However, whether the SaaS is implicated in regulating biofilm formation in abiotic surfaces remains unclear. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to clarify the effect of SaaS in Salmonella Enteritidis and explore the modulatory mechanism on the biofilm formation. METHODS Motility characteristics and total biomass of biofilm of test strains were investigated by the phenotypes in three soft agar plates and crystal violet staining in polystyrene microplates. Studies of microscopic structure and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) of biofilm on solid surfaces were carried out using confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) and Raman spectra. Transcriptomics and proteomics were applied to analyze the changes of gene expression and EPS component. The RNA-protein pull-down and promoter-reporter β-galactosidase activity assays were employed to analyze RNA binding proteins and identify target mRNAs, respectively. RESULTS SaaS inhibits biofilm formation by repressing the adhesion potential and the secretion of EPS components. Integration of transcriptomics and proteomics analysis revealed that SaaS strengthened the expression of the flagellar synthesis system and downregulated the expression of curli amyloid fibers. Furthermore, RNA-protein pull-down interactome datasets indicated that SaaS binds to Hfq (an RNA molecular chaperone protein, known as a host factor for phage Qbeta RNA replication) uniquely among 193 candidate proteins, and promoter-reporter β-galactosidase activity assay confirmed target mRNAs including hilD, cheA, and csgA. CONCLUSION SaaS inhibits the properties of bacterial mobility, perturbs the secretion of EPS, and contributes to the inhibition of biofilm formation by interacting with target mRNA (hilD, cheA, and csgA) through the Hfq-mediated pathway.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chongyang Lyu
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Haijing Hu
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Linlin Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Shuwen He
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinglian Xu
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Guanghong Zhou
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China
| | - Huhu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Meat Quality Control and Cultured Meat Development, College of Food Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China; College of Food Science and Pharmacy, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China.
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2
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Siemers M, Lippegaus A, Papenfort K. ChimericFragments: computation, analysis and visualization of global RNA networks. NAR Genom Bioinform 2024; 6:lqae035. [PMID: 38633425 PMCID: PMC11023125 DOI: 10.1093/nargab/lqae035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2024] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/19/2024] Open
Abstract
RNA-RNA interactions are a key feature of post-transcriptional gene regulation in all domains of life. While ever more experimental protocols are being developed to study RNA duplex formation on a genome-wide scale, computational methods for the analysis and interpretation of the underlying data are lagging behind. Here, we present ChimericFragments, an analysis framework for RNA-seq experiments that produce chimeric RNA molecules. ChimericFragments implements a novel statistical method based on the complementarity of the base-pairing RNAs around their ligation site and provides an interactive graph-based visualization for data exploration and interpretation. ChimericFragments detects true RNA-RNA interactions with high precision and is compatible with several widely used experimental procedures such as RIL-seq, LIGR-seq or CLASH. We further demonstrate that ChimericFragments enables the systematic detection of novel RNA regulators and RNA-target pairs with crucial roles in microbial physiology and virulence. ChimericFragments is written in Julia and available at: https://github.com/maltesie/ChimericFragments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malte Siemers
- Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Microbiology, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Microverse Cluster, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
| | - Anne Lippegaus
- Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Microbiology, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Kai Papenfort
- Friedrich Schiller University, Institute of Microbiology, 07745 Jena, Germany
- Microverse Cluster, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, 07743 Jena, Germany
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3
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Goh KJ, Altuvia Y, Argaman L, Raz Y, Bar A, Lithgow T, Margalit H, Gan YH. RIL-seq reveals extensive involvement of small RNAs in virulence and capsule regulation in hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae. Nucleic Acids Res 2024:gkae440. [PMID: 38804271 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkae440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 04/29/2024] [Accepted: 05/09/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024] Open
Abstract
Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) can infect healthy individuals, in contrast to classical strains that commonly cause nosocomial infections. The recent convergence of hypervirulence with carbapenem-resistance in K. pneumoniae can potentially create 'superbugs' that are challenging to treat. Understanding virulence regulation of hvKp is thus critical. Accumulating evidence suggest that posttranscriptional regulation by small RNAs (sRNAs) plays a role in bacterial virulence, but it has hardly been studied in K. pneumoniae. We applied RIL-seq to a prototypical clinical isolate of hvKp to unravel the Hfq-dependent RNA-RNA interaction (RRI) network. The RRI network is dominated by sRNAs, including predicted novel sRNAs, three of which we validated experimentally. We constructed a stringent subnetwork composed of RRIs that involve at least one hvKp virulence-associated gene and identified the capsule gene loci as a hub target where multiple sRNAs interact. We found that the sRNA OmrB suppressed both capsule production and hypermucoviscosity when overexpressed. Furthermore, OmrB base-pairs within kvrA coding region and partially suppresses translation of the capsule regulator KvrA. This agrees with current understanding of capsule as a major virulence and fitness factor. It emphasizes the intricate regulatory control of bacterial phenotypes by sRNAs, particularly of genes critical to bacterial physiology and virulence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwok Jian Goh
- Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117545, Singapore
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117596, Singapore
- Infection and Immunity Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Yael Altuvia
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
| | - Liron Argaman
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
| | - Yair Raz
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
| | - Amir Bar
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
| | - Trevor Lithgow
- Infection and Immunity Program, Biomedicine Discovery Institute and Department of Microbiology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Hanah Margalit
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9112102, Israel
| | - Yunn-Hwen Gan
- Infectious Diseases Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117545, Singapore
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117596, Singapore
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4
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Wang WS, Lin-Chao S. Hfq-Antisense RNA I Binding Regulates RNase E-Dependent RNA Stability and ColE1 Plasmid Copy Number. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3955. [PMID: 38612765 PMCID: PMC11012335 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25073955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 03/31/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The mechanisms and consequences of gene regulation by Hfq on trans-encoded small RNAs (sRNAs) have been well studied and documented. Recent employment of Genomic SELEX to search for Hfq-binding motifs has indicated that Hfq might frequently regulate gene expression controlled by cis-antisense RNAs. Here, we use the classic ColE1 plasmid antisense RNA-based regulation model (i.e., RNA I) to study the role of Hfq in controlling antisense regulatory functions. We show that Hfq exhibits a high binding affinity for RNA I and that binding limits RNase E cleavage, thereby stabilizing RNA I and reducing the plasmid copy number. Full-length RNA I displays a binding affinity for Hfq in the sub-micromolar range. In vivo overexpression of Hfq prolongs RNA I stability and reduces the ColE1 plasmid copy number, whereas deletion of hfq reduces RNA I stability and increases the plasmid copy number. RNA I predominantly binds to the proximal face of Hfq and exhibits competitive ability against a chromosome-borne proximal face-bound sRNA (DsrA) for Hfq binding. Through its strong promoter and high gene dosage features, plasmid-encoded antisense RNA I results in high RNA I expression, so it may antagonize the effects of trans-encoded RNAs in controlling target gene expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei-Syuan Wang
- Molecular and Cell Biology, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and Graduate Institute of Life Science, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10002, Taiwan
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
| | - Sue Lin-Chao
- Molecular and Cell Biology, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica and Graduate Institute of Life Science, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei 11490, Taiwan
- Institute of Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10002, Taiwan
- Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei 11529, Taiwan
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5
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McQuail J, Matera G, Gräfenhan T, Bischler T, Haberkant P, Stein F, Vogel J, Wigneshweraraj S. Global Hfq-mediated RNA interactome of nitrogen starved Escherichia coli uncovers a conserved post-transcriptional regulatory axis required for optimal growth recovery. Nucleic Acids Res 2024; 52:2323-2339. [PMID: 38142457 PMCID: PMC10954441 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkad1211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/26/2023] Open
Abstract
The RNA binding protein Hfq has a central role in the post-transcription control of gene expression in many bacteria. Numerous studies have mapped the transcriptome-wide Hfq-mediated RNA-RNA interactions in growing bacteria or bacteria that have entered short-term growth-arrest. To what extent post-transcriptional regulation underpins gene expression in growth-arrested bacteria remains unknown. Here, we used nitrogen (N) starvation as a model to study the Hfq-mediated RNA interactome as Escherichia coli enter, experience, and exit long-term growth arrest. We observe that the Hfq-mediated RNA interactome undergoes extensive changes during N starvation, with the conserved SdsR sRNA making the most interactions with different mRNA targets exclusively in long-term N-starved E. coli. Taking a proteomics approach, we reveal that in growth-arrested cells SdsR influences gene expression far beyond its direct mRNA targets. We demonstrate that the absence of SdsR significantly compromises the ability of the mutant bacteria to recover growth competitively from the long-term N-starved state and uncover a conserved post-transcriptional regulatory axis which underpins this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josh McQuail
- Section of Molecular Microbiology and Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK
| | - Gianluca Matera
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), D-97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Tom Gräfenhan
- Core Unit Systems Medicine, University of Würzburg, D-97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Thorsten Bischler
- Core Unit Systems Medicine, University of Würzburg, D-97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Per Haberkant
- Proteomics Core Facility, EMBL Heidelberg, D-69117,Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Frank Stein
- Proteomics Core Facility, EMBL Heidelberg, D-69117,Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Jörg Vogel
- Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research (HIRI), Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), D-97080 Würzburg, Germany
- Institute for Molecular Infection Biology (IMIB), Faculty of Medicine, University of Würzburg, D-97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Sivaramesh Wigneshweraraj
- Section of Molecular Microbiology and Centre for Bacterial Resistance Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, UK
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6
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Kotsira V, Skoufos G, Alexiou A, Zioga M, Tastsoglou S, Kardaras FS, Perdikopanis N, Elissavet Z, Gouzouasis V, Charitou T, Hatzigeorgiou AG. Agnodice: indexing experimentally supported bacterial sRNA-RNA interactions. mBio 2024; 15:e0301023. [PMID: 38319109 PMCID: PMC10936433 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03010-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
In the last decade, the immense growth in the field of bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs), along with the biotechnological breakthroughs in Deep Sequencing permitted the deeper understanding of sRNA-RNA interactions. However, microbiology is currently lacking a thoroughly curated collection of this rapidly expanding universe. We present Agnodice (https://dianalab.e-ce.uth.gr/agnodice), our effort to systematically catalog and annotate experimentally supported bacterial sRNA-RNA interactions. Agnodice, for the first time, incorporates thousands of bacterial sRNA-RNA interactions derived from a diverse set of experimental methodologies including state-of-the-art Deep Sequencing interactome identification techniques. It comprises 39,600 entries which are annotated at strain-level resolution and pertain to 399 sRNAs and 12,137 target RNAs identified in 71 bacterial strains. The database content is exclusively experimentally supported, incorporating interactions derived via low yield as well as state-of-the-art high-throughput methods. The entire content of the database is freely accessible and can be directly downloaded for further analysis. Agnodice will serve as a valuable source, enabling microbiologists to form novel hypotheses, design/identify novel sRNA-based drug targets, and explore the therapeutic potential of microbiomes from the perspective of small regulatory RNAs.IMPORTANCEAgnodice (https://dianalab.e-ce.uth.gr/agnodice) is an effort to systematically catalog and annotate experimentally supported bacterial small RNA (sRNA)-RNA interactions. Agnodice, for the first time, incorporates thousands of bacterial sRNA-RNA interactions derived from a diverse set of experimental methodologies including state-of-the-art Next Generation Sequencing interactome identification techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vasiliki Kotsira
- DIANA-Lab, Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
- Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
| | - Giorgos Skoufos
- DIANA-Lab, Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
- Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
| | - Athanasios Alexiou
- DIANA-Lab, Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
- Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
| | - Maria Zioga
- DIANA-Lab, Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
| | - Spyros Tastsoglou
- DIANA-Lab, Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
- Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
| | - Filippos S. Kardaras
- DIANA-Lab, Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
- Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
| | - Nikos Perdikopanis
- Department of Informatics and Telecommunications, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Zacharopoulou Elissavet
- DIANA-Lab, Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
- Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
| | - Vasileios Gouzouasis
- Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
- Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece
| | - Theodosia Charitou
- Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
| | - Artemis G. Hatzigeorgiou
- DIANA-Lab, Department of Computer Science and Biomedical Informatics, University of Thessaly, Lamia, Greece
- Hellenic Pasteur Institute, Athens, Greece
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7
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Esteban-Serna S, Chu LC, Chauhan M, Raja P, Granneman S. Defining Bacterial RNA-RNA Interactomes Using CLASH. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2741:307-345. [PMID: 38217661 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3565-0_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacterial pathogen accounting for high mortality rates among infected patients. Transcriptomic regulation by small RNAs (sRNAs) has been shown to regulate networks promoting antibiotic resistance and virulence in S. aureus. Yet, the biological role of most sRNAs during MRSA host infection remains unknown. To fill this gap, in collaboration with the lab of Jai Tree, we performed comprehensive RNA-RNA interactome analyses in MRSA using CLASH under conditions that mimic the host environment. Here we present a detailed version of this optimized CLASH (cross-linking, ligation, and sequencing of hybrids) protocol we recently developed, which has been tailored to explore the RNA interactome in S. aureus as well as other Gram-positive bacteria. Alongside, we introduce a compilation of helpful Python functions for analyzing folding energies of putative RNA-RNA interactions and streamlining sRNA and mRNA seed discovery in CLASH data. In the accompanying computational demonstration, we aim to establish a standardized strategy to evaluate the likelihood that observed chimeras arise from true RNA-RNA interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Esteban-Serna
- Centre for Engineering Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Liang-Cui Chu
- Centre for Engineering Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Mehak Chauhan
- Centre for Engineering Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Pujitha Raja
- Division of Pathway and Infection Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Sander Granneman
- Centre for Engineering Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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Liu F, Chen Z, Zhang S, Wu K, Bei C, Wang C, Chao Y. In vivo RNA interactome profiling reveals 3'UTR-processed small RNA targeting a central regulatory hub. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8106. [PMID: 38062076 PMCID: PMC10703908 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43632-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/15/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) are crucial regulators of gene expression in bacteria. Acting in concert with major RNA chaperones such as Hfq or ProQ, sRNAs base-pair with multiple target mRNAs and form large RNA-RNA interaction networks. To systematically investigate the RNA-RNA interactome in living cells, we have developed a streamlined in vivo approach iRIL-seq (intracellular RIL-seq). This generic approach is highly robust, illustrating the dynamic sRNA interactomes in Salmonella enterica across multiple stages of growth. We have identified the OmpD porin mRNA as a central regulatory hub that is targeted by a dozen sRNAs, including FadZ cleaved from the conserved 3'UTR of fadBA mRNA. Both ompD and FadZ are activated by CRP, constituting a type I incoherent feed-forward loop in the fatty acid metabolism pathway. Altogether, we have established an approach to profile RNA-RNA interactomes in live cells, highlighting the complexity of RNA regulatory hubs and RNA networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Liu
- Microbial RNA Systems Biology Unit, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- The Center for Microbes, Development and Health (CMDH), Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Ziying Chen
- Microbial RNA Systems Biology Unit, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200033, China
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center & Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, China
| | - Shuo Zhang
- Microbial RNA Systems Biology Unit, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- The Center for Microbes, Development and Health (CMDH), Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kejing Wu
- Microbial RNA Systems Biology Unit, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
- The Center for Microbes, Development and Health (CMDH), Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China
| | - Cheng Bei
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200033, China
| | - Chuan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Virology (MOE/NHC/CAMS), Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Pathogenic Microorganisms and Infection, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200033, China.
| | - Yanjie Chao
- Microbial RNA Systems Biology Unit, Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Immunology, Shanghai Institute of Immunity and Infection, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
- The Center for Microbes, Development and Health (CMDH), Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
- Key Laboratory of RNA Science and Engineering, Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Center for Excellence in Molecular Cell Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 200031, China.
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9
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Bar A, Argaman L, Eldar M, Margalit H. TRS: a method for determining transcript termini from RNAtag-seq sequencing data. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7843. [PMID: 38030608 PMCID: PMC10687069 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43534-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/12/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
In bacteria, determination of the 3' termini of transcripts plays an essential role in regulation of gene expression, affecting the functionality and stability of the transcript. Several experimental approaches were developed to identify the 3' termini of transcripts, however, these were applied only to a limited number of bacteria and growth conditions. Here we present a straightforward approach to identify 3' termini from widely available RNA-seq data without the need for additional experiments. Our approach relies on the observation that the RNAtag-seq sequencing protocol results in overabundance of reads mapped to transcript 3' termini. We present TRS (Termini by Read Starts), a computational pipeline exploiting this property to identify 3' termini in RNAtag-seq data, and show that the identified 3' termini are highly reliable. Since RNAtag-seq data are widely available for many bacteria and growth conditions, our approach paves the way for studying bacterial transcription termination in an unprecedented scope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amir Bar
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics IMRIC, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9112102, Israel
| | - Liron Argaman
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics IMRIC, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9112102, Israel
| | - Michal Eldar
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics IMRIC, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9112102, Israel
| | - Hanah Margalit
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics IMRIC, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, 9112102, Israel.
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10
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Melamed S, Zhang A, Jarnik M, Mills J, Silverman A, Zhang H, Storz G. σ 28-dependent small RNA regulation of flagella biosynthesis. eLife 2023; 12:RP87151. [PMID: 37843988 PMCID: PMC10578931 DOI: 10.7554/elife.87151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Flagella are important for bacterial motility as well as for pathogenesis. Synthesis of these structures is energy intensive and, while extensive transcriptional regulation has been described, little is known about the posttranscriptional regulation. Small RNAs (sRNAs) are widespread posttranscriptional regulators, most base pairing with mRNAs to affect their stability and/or translation. Here, we describe four UTR-derived sRNAs (UhpU, MotR, FliX and FlgO) whose expression is controlled by the flagella sigma factor σ28 (fliA) in Escherichia coli. Interestingly, the four sRNAs have varied effects on flagellin protein levels, flagella number and cell motility. UhpU, corresponding to the 3´ UTR of a metabolic gene, likely has hundreds of targets including a transcriptional regulator at the top flagella regulatory cascade connecting metabolism and flagella synthesis. Unlike most sRNAs, MotR and FliX base pair within the coding sequences of target mRNAs and act on ribosomal protein mRNAs connecting ribosome production and flagella synthesis. The study shows how sRNA-mediated regulation can overlay a complex network enabling nuanced control of flagella synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahar Melamed
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentBethesdaUnited States
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Aixia Zhang
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentBethesdaUnited States
| | - Michal Jarnik
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentBethesdaUnited States
| | - Joshua Mills
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentBethesdaUnited States
| | - Aviezer Silverman
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, Faculty of Medicine, The Hebrew University of JerusalemJerusalemIsrael
| | - Hongen Zhang
- Bioinformatics and Scientific Computing Core, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentBethesdaUnited States
| | - Gisela Storz
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentBethesdaUnited States
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11
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Esteban‐Serna S, McCaughan H, Granneman S. Advantages and limitations of UV cross-linking analysis of protein-RNA interactomes in microbes. Mol Microbiol 2023; 120:477-489. [PMID: 37165708 PMCID: PMC10952675 DOI: 10.1111/mmi.15073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 04/28/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) govern the lifespan of nearly all transcripts and play key roles in adaptive responses in microbes. A robust approach to examine protein-RNA interactions involves irradiating cells with UV light to form covalent adducts between RBPs and their cognate RNAs. Combined with RNA or protein purification, these procedures can provide global RBP censuses or transcriptomic maps for all target sequences of a single protein in living cells. The recent development of novel methods has quickly populated the RBP landscape in microorganisms. Here, we provide an overview of prominent UV cross-linking techniques which have been applied to investigate RNA interactomes in microbes. By assessing their advantages and caveats, this technical evaluation intends to guide the selection of appropriate methods and experimental design as well as to encourage the use of complementary UV-dependent techniques to inspect RNA-binding activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Esteban‐Serna
- Centre for Engineering Biology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Hugh McCaughan
- Centre for Engineering Biology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Sander Granneman
- Centre for Engineering Biology, School of Biological SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
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12
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Gebhardt MJ, Farland EA, Basu P, Macareno K, Melamed S, Dove SL. Hfq-licensed RNA-RNA interactome in Pseudomonas aeruginosa reveals a keystone sRNA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2218407120. [PMID: 37285605 PMCID: PMC10214189 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2218407120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The RNA chaperone Hfq plays important regulatory roles in many bacteria by facilitating the base pairing between small RNAs (sRNAs) and their cognate mRNA targets. In the gram-negative opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, over a hundred putative sRNAs have been identified but for most, their regulatory targets remained unknown. Using RIL-seq with Hfq in P. aeruginosa, we identified the mRNA targets for dozens of previously known and unknown sRNAs. Strikingly, hundreds of the RNA-RNA interactions we discovered involved PhrS. This sRNA was thought to mediate its effects by pairing with a single target mRNA and regulating the abundance of the transcription regulator MvfR required for the synthesis of the quorum sensing signal PQS. We present evidence that PhrS controls many transcripts by pairing with them directly and employs a two-tiered mechanism for governing PQS synthesis that involves control of an additional transcription regulator called AntR. Our findings in P. aeruginosa expand the repertoire of targets for previously known sRNAs, reveal potential regulatory targets for previously unknown sRNAs, and suggest that PhrS may be a keystone sRNA with the ability to pair with an unusually large number of transcripts in this organism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Gebhardt
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Elizabeth A. Farland
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Pallabi Basu
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Keven Macareno
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
| | - Sahar Melamed
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Research Israel-Canada, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem9112102, Israel
| | - Simon L. Dove
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Boston Children’s Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA02115
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13
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Wang Y, Teng Y, Geng J, Long J, Yang H, Duan G, Chen S. Involvement of RNA chaperone Hfq in the regulation of antibiotic resistance and virulence in Shigella sonnei. Res Microbiol 2023:104047. [PMID: 36868486 DOI: 10.1016/j.resmic.2023.104047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
The host factor for RNA phage Qβ replicase (Hfq) is a crucial post-transcriptional regulator in many bacterial pathogens, facilitating the interaction between small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) and their target mRNAs. Studies have suggested that Hfq plays a role in antibiotic resistance and virulence in bacteria, although its functions in Shigella are not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the functional roles of Hfq in Shigella sonnei (S. sonnei) by constructing an hfq deletion mutant. Our phenotypic assays showed that the hfq deletion mutant was more sensitivity to antibiotics and had impaired virulence. Transcriptome analyses supported the results concerning the phenotype of the hfq mutant and showed that differentially expressed genes were mainly enriched in the KEGG pathways two-component system, ABC transporters, ribosome, and Escherichia coli biofilm formation. Additionally, we predicted eleven novel Hfq-dependent sRNAs, which were potentially involved in the regulation of antibiotic resistance and/or virulence in S. sonnei. Our findings suggest that Hfq plays a post-transcriptional role in regulating antibiotic resistance and virulence in S. sonnei, and could provide a basis for future studies on Hfq-sRNA-mRNA regulatory networks in this important pathogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ya Wang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yanli Teng
- Henan Province Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Juan Geng
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Jinzhao Long
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Haiyan Yang
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Guangcai Duan
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Shuaiyin Chen
- Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
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14
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Jia T, Wu P, Liu B, Liu M, Mu H, Liu D, Huang M, Li L, Wei Y, Wang L, Yang Q, Liu Y, Yang B, Huang D, Yang L, Liu B. The phosphate-induced small RNA EsrL promotes E. coli virulence, biofilm formation, and intestinal colonization. Sci Signal 2023; 16:eabm0488. [PMID: 36626577 DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.abm0488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Escherichia coli are part of the normal intestinal microbiome, but some enterohemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) and enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) strains can cause potentially life-threatening gastroenteritis. Virulence factors underlying the ability of EHEC and EPEC to cause disease include those encoded in the locus of the enterocyte effacement (LEE) pathogenicity island. Here, we demonstrated that EsrL, a small RNA present in many E. coli strains, promoted pathogenicity, adhesion, and biofilm formation in EHEC and EPEC. PhoB, the response regulator of the two-component system that controls cellular responses to phosphate, directly repressed esrL expression under low-phosphate conditions. A phosphate-rich environment, similar to that of the human intestine, relieved PhoB-mediated repression of esrL. EsrL interacted with and stabilized the LEE-encoded regulator (ler) transcript, which encodes a transcription factor for LEE genes, leading to increased bacterial adhesion to cultured cells and colonization of the rabbit colon. EsrL also bound to and stabilized the fimC transcript, which encodes a chaperone that is required for the assembly of type 1 pili, resulting in enhanced cell adhesion in pathogenic E. coli and enhanced biofilm formation in pathogenic and nonpathogenic E. coli. Our findings demonstrate that EsrL stimulates the expression of virulence genes in both EHEC and EPEC under phosphate-rich conditions, thus promoting the pathogenicity of EHEC and EPEC in the nutrient-rich gut environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyuan Jia
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China.,School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Pan Wu
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Bin Liu
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China.,Center for Microbial Functional Genomics and Detection Technology, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Miaomiao Liu
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Huiqian Mu
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Dan Liu
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Min Huang
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Linxing Li
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Yi Wei
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Lu Wang
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Yutao Liu
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China.,Center for Microbial Functional Genomics and Detection Technology, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Bin Yang
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China.,Center for Microbial Functional Genomics and Detection Technology, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China
| | - Di Huang
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China.,Center for Microbial Functional Genomics and Detection Technology, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China.,Nankai International Advanced Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
| | - Liang Yang
- School of Medicine, Southern University of Science and Technology, Shenzhen, China
| | - Bin Liu
- Institute of Translational Medicine Research, Tianjin Union Medical Center, TEDA Institute of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Nankai University, Tianjin, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Technology, Nankai University, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China.,Center for Microbial Functional Genomics and Detection Technology, Ministry of Education, Tianjin, China.,Nankai International Advanced Research Institute, Shenzhen, China
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15
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An RNA sponge controls quorum sensing dynamics and biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7585. [PMID: 36482060 PMCID: PMC9732341 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35261-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/24/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) acting in concert with the RNA chaperone Hfq are prevalent in many bacteria and typically act by base-pairing with multiple target transcripts. In the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae, sRNAs play roles in various processes including antibiotic tolerance, competence, and quorum sensing (QS). Here, we use RIL-seq (RNA-interaction-by-ligation-and-sequencing) to identify Hfq-interacting sRNAs and their targets in V. cholerae. We find hundreds of sRNA-mRNA interactions, as well as RNA duplexes formed between two sRNA regulators. Further analysis of these duplexes identifies an RNA sponge, termed QrrX, that base-pairs with and inactivates the Qrr1-4 sRNAs, which are known to modulate the QS pathway. Transcription of qrrX is activated by QrrT, a previously uncharacterized LysR-type transcriptional regulator. Our results indicate that QrrX and QrrT are required for rapid conversion from individual to community behaviours in V. cholerae.
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16
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Walling LR, Kouse AB, Shabalina SA, Zhang H, Storz G. A 3' UTR-derived small RNA connecting nitrogen and carbon metabolism in enteric bacteria. Nucleic Acids Res 2022; 50:10093-10109. [PMID: 36062564 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkac748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2022] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing numbers of small, regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) corresponding to 3' untranslated regions (UTR) are being discovered in bacteria. One such sRNA, denoted GlnZ, corresponds to the 3' UTR of the Escherichia coli glnA mRNA encoding glutamine synthetase. Several forms of GlnZ, processed from the glnA mRNA, are detected in cells growing with limiting ammonium. GlnZ levels are regulated transcriptionally by the NtrC transcription factor and post-transcriptionally by RNase III. Consistent with the expression, E. coli cells lacking glnZ show delayed outgrowth from nitrogen starvation compared to wild type cells. Transcriptome-wide RNA-RNA interactome datasets indicated that GlnZ binds to multiple target RNAs. Immunoblots and assays of fusions confirmed GlnZ-mediated repression of glnP and sucA, encoding proteins that contribute to glutamine transport and the citric acid cycle, respectively. Although the overall sequences of GlnZ from E. coli K-12, Enterohemorrhagic E. coli and Salmonella enterica have significant differences due to various sequence insertions, all forms of the sRNA were able to regulate the two targets characterized. Together our data show that GlnZ impacts growth of E. coli under low nitrogen conditions by modulating genes that affect carbon and nitrogen flux.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren R Walling
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892-4417, USA
| | - Andrew B Kouse
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892-4417, USA
| | - Svetlana A Shabalina
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
| | - Hongen Zhang
- Bioinformatics and Scientific Programming Core, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892-4417, USA
| | - Gisela Storz
- Division of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, MD 20892-4417, USA
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17
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Shi Z, Wang Q, Wang S, Wang C, Zhang LH, Liang Z. Hfq Is a Critical Modulator of Pathogenicity of Dickeya oryzae in Rice Seeds and Potato Tubers. Microorganisms 2022; 10:microorganisms10051031. [PMID: 35630473 PMCID: PMC9144144 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms10051031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The frequent outbreaks of soft-rot diseases caused by Dickeya oryzae have emerged as severe problems in plant production in recent years and urgently require the elucidation of the virulence mechanisms of D. oryzae. Here, we report that Hfq, a conserved RNA chaperone protein in bacteria, is involved in modulating a series of virulence-related traits and bacterial virulence in D. oryzae EC1. The findings show that the null mutation of the hfqEC1 gene totally abolished the production of zeamine phytotoxins and protease, significantly attenuated the production of two other types of cell wall degrading enzymes, i.e., pectate lyase and cellulase, as well as attenuating swarming motility, biofilm formation, the development of hypersensitive response to Nicotiana benthamiana, and bacterial infections in rice seeds and potato tubers. QRT-PCR analysis and promoter reporter assay further indicated that HfqEC1 regulates zeamine production via modulating the expression of the key zeamine biosynthesis (zms) cluster genes. Taken together, these findings highlight that the Hfq of D. oryzae is one of the key regulators in modulating the production of virulence determinants and bacterial virulence in rice seeds and potato tubers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zurong Shi
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (Z.S.); (Q.W.)
- School of Biological Engineering, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China; (S.W.); (C.W.)
- Innovative Institute for Plant Health, Zhongkai University of Agriculture and Engineering, Guangzhou 510225, China
| | - Qingwei Wang
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (Z.S.); (Q.W.)
| | - Shunchang Wang
- School of Biological Engineering, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China; (S.W.); (C.W.)
| | - Chengrun Wang
- School of Biological Engineering, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China; (S.W.); (C.W.)
| | - Lian-Hui Zhang
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (Z.S.); (Q.W.)
- Correspondence: (L.-H.Z.); (Z.L.)
| | - Zhibin Liang
- Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, Integrative Microbiology Research Centre, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China; (Z.S.); (Q.W.)
- Correspondence: (L.-H.Z.); (Z.L.)
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18
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Yu Z, Fu Y, Zhang W, Zhu L, Yin W, Chou SH, He J. The RNA Chaperone Protein Hfq Regulates the Characteristic Sporulation and Insecticidal Activity of Bacillus thuringiensis. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:884528. [PMID: 35479624 PMCID: PMC9037596 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.884528] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is one of the most widely used bio-insecticides at present. It can produce many virulence factors and insecticidal crystal proteins during growth and sporulation. Hfq, on the other hand, is a bacterial RNA chaperone that can regulate the function of different kinds of RNAs, thereby affecting various bacterial phenotypes. To further explore the physiological functions of Hfq in Bt, we took BMB171 as the starting strain, knocked out one, two, or three hfq genes in its genome in different combinations, and compared the phenotypic differences between the deletion mutant strains and the starting strain. We did observe significant changes in several phenotypes, including motility, biofilm formation, sporulation, and insecticidal activity against cotton bollworm, among others. Afterward, we found through transcriptome studies that when all hfq genes were deleted, 32.5% of the genes in Bt were differentially transcribed, with particular changes in the sporulation-related and virulence-related genes. The above data demonstrated that Hfq plays a pivotal role in Bt and can regulate its various physiological functions. Our study on the regulatory mechanism of Hfq in Bt, especially the mining of the regulatory network of its sporulation and insecticidal activity, could lay a theoretical foundation for the better utilization of Bt as an effective insecticide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoqing Yu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Yang Fu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China.,National Engineering Research Center of Edible Fungi, Institute of Edible Fungi, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Wei Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Li Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Wen Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Shan-Ho Chou
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jin He
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
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19
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Miyakoshi M, Morita T, Kobayashi A, Berger A, Takahashi H, Gotoh Y, Hayashi T, Tanaka K. Glutamine synthetase mRNA releases sRNA from its 3'UTR to regulate carbon/nitrogen metabolic balance in Enterobacteriaceae. eLife 2022; 11:82411. [PMID: 36440827 PMCID: PMC9731577 DOI: 10.7554/elife.82411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Glutamine synthetase (GS) is the key enzyme of nitrogen assimilation induced under nitrogen limiting conditions. The carbon skeleton of glutamate and glutamine, 2-oxoglutarate, is supplied from the TCA cycle, but how this metabolic flow is controlled in response to nitrogen availability remains unknown. We show that the expression of the E1o component of 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase, SucA, is repressed under nitrogen limitation in Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli. The repression is exerted at the post-transcriptional level by an Hfq-dependent sRNA GlnZ generated from the 3'UTR of the GS-encoding glnA mRNA. Enterobacterial GlnZ variants contain a conserved seed sequence and primarily regulate sucA through base-pairing far upstream of the translation initiation region. During growth on glutamine as the nitrogen source, the glnA 3'UTR deletion mutants expressed SucA at higher levels than the S. enterica and E. coli wild-type strains, respectively. In E. coli, the transcriptional regulator Nac also participates in the repression of sucA. Lastly, this study clarifies that the release of GlnZ from the glnA mRNA by RNase E is essential for the post-transcriptional regulation of sucA. Thus, the mRNA coordinates the two independent functions to balance the supply and demand of the fundamental metabolites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masatoshi Miyakoshi
- Department of Infection Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of TsukubaTsukubaJapan,Transborder Medical Research Center, University of TsukubaTsukubaJapan,International Joint Degree Master’s Program in Agro-Biomedical Science in Food and Health (GIP-TRIAD), University of TsukubaTsukubaJapan
| | - Teppei Morita
- Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Keio UniversityTsuruokaJapan,Graduate School of Media and Governance, Keio UniversityFujisawaJapan
| | - Asaki Kobayashi
- Transborder Medical Research Center, University of TsukubaTsukubaJapan
| | - Anna Berger
- International Joint Degree Master’s Program in Agro-Biomedical Science in Food and Health (GIP-TRIAD), University of TsukubaTsukubaJapan
| | | | - Yasuhiro Gotoh
- Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu UniversityFukuokaJapan
| | - Tetsuya Hayashi
- Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu UniversityFukuokaJapan
| | - Kan Tanaka
- Laboratory for Chemistry and Life Science, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of TechnologyYokohamaJapan
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