RNase R is a highly unstable protein regulated by growth phase and stress

Rho-dependent transcriptional switches regulate the bacterial response to cold shock

Binding of the bacterial Rho helicase to nascent transcripts triggers Rho-dependent transcription termination (RDTT) in response to cellular signals that modulate mRNA structure and accessibility of Rho utilization (Rut) sites. Despite the impact of temperature on RNA structure, RDTT was never linked to the bacterial response to temperature shifts. We show that Rho is a central player in the cold-shock response (CSR), challenging the current view that CSR is primarily a posttranscriptional program. We identify Rut sites in 5'-untranslated regions of key CSR genes/operons (cspA, cspB, cspG, and nsrR-rnr-yjfHI) that trigger premature RDTT at 37°C but not at 15°C. High concentrations of RNA chaperone CspA or nucleotide changes in the cspA mRNA leader reduce RDTT efficiency, revealing how RNA restructuring directs Rho to activate CSR genes during the cold shock and to silence them during cold acclimation. These findings establish a paradigm for how RNA thermosensors can modulate gene expression.

A type II toxin-antitoxin system is responsible for the cell death at low temperature in Pseudomonas syringae Lz4W lacking RNase R

RNase R (encoded by the rnr gene) is a highly processive 3' → 5' exoribonuclease essential for the growth of the psychrotrophic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae Lz4W at low temperature. The cell death of a rnr deletion mutant at low temperature has been previously attributed to processing defects in 16S rRNA, defective ribosomal assembly, and inefficient protein synthesis. We recently showed that RNase R is required to protect P. syringae Lz4W from DNA damage and oxidative stress, independent of its exoribonuclease activity. Here, we show that the processing defect in 16S rRNA does not cause cell death of the rnr mutant of P. syringae at low temperature. Our results demonstrate that the rnr mutant of P. syringae Lz4W, complemented with a RNase R deficient in exoribonuclease function (RNase RD284A), is defective in 16S rRNA processing but can grow at 4 °C. This suggested that the processing defect in ribosomal RNAs is not a cause of the cold sensitivity of the rnr mutant. We further show that the rnr mutant accumulates copies of the indigenous plasmid pLz4W that bears a type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) system (P. syringae antitoxin-P. syringae toxin). This phenotype was rescued by overexpressing antitoxin psA in the rnr mutant, suggesting that activation of the type II TA system leads to cold sensitivity of the rnr mutant of P. syringae Lz4W. Here, we report a previously unknown functional relationship between the cold sensitivity of the rnr mutant and a type II TA system in P. syringae Lz4W.

Exoribonuclease RNase R protects Antarctic Pseudomonas syringae Lz4W from DNA damage and oxidative stress

IMPORTANCE

Bacterial exoribonucleases play a crucial role in RNA maturation, degradation, quality control, and turnover. In this study, we have uncovered a previously unknown role of 3'-5' exoribonuclease RNase R of Pseudomonas syringae Lz4W in DNA damage and oxidative stress response. Here, we show that neither the exoribonuclease function of RNase R nor its association with the RNA degradosome complex is essential for this function. Interestingly, in P. syringae Lz4W, hydrolytic RNase R exhibits physiological roles similar to phosphorolytic 3'-5' exoribonuclease PNPase of E. coli. Our data suggest that during the course of evolution, mesophilic E. coli and psychrotrophic P. syringae have apparently swapped these exoribonucleases to adapt to their respective environmental growth conditions.

Chemoproteomics Reveals Disruption of Metal Homeostasis and Metalloproteins by the Antibiotic Holomycin

The natural product holomycin contains a unique cyclic ene-disulfide and exhibits broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities. Reduced holomycin chelates metal ions with a high affinity and disrupts metal homeostasis in the cell. To identify cellular metalloproteins inhibited by holomycin, reactive-cysteine profiling was performed using isotopic tandem orthogonal proteolysis-activity-based protein profiling (isoTOP-ABPP). This chemoproteomic analysis demonstrated that holomycin treatment increases the reactivity of metal-coordinating cysteine residues in several zinc-dependent and iron-sulfur cluster-dependent enzymes, including carbonic anhydrase II and fumarase A. We validated that holomycin inhibits fumarase A activity in bacterial cells and diminishes the presence of iron-sulfur clusters in fumarase A. Whole-proteome abundance analysis revealed that holomycin treatment induces zinc and iron starvation and cellular stress. This study suggests that holomycin inhibits bacterial growth by impairing the functions of multiple metalloenzymes and sets the stage for investigating the impact of metal-binding molecules on metalloproteomes by using chemoproteomics.

A general overview of the multifactorial adaptation to cold: biochemical mechanisms and strategies

Cold environments are more frequent than people think. They include deep oceans, cold lakes, snow, permafrost, sea ice, glaciers, cold soils, cold deserts, caves, areas at elevations greater than 3000 m, and also artificial refrigeration systems. These environments are inhabited by a diversity of eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms that must adapt to the hard conditions imposed by cold. This adaptation is multifactorial and includes (i) sensing the cold, mainly through the modification of the liquid-crystalline membrane state, leading to the activation of a two-component system that transduce the signal; (ii) adapting the composition of membranes for proper functions mainly due to the production of double bonds in lipids, changes in hopanoid composition, and the inclusion of pigments; (iii) producing cold-adapted proteins, some of which show modifications in the composition of amino acids involved in stabilizing interactions and structural adaptations, e.g., enzymes with high catalytic efficiency; and (iv) producing ice-binding proteins and anti-freeze proteins, extracellular polysaccharides and compatible solutes that protect cells from intracellular and extracellular ice. However, organisms also respond by reprogramming their metabolism and specifically inducing cold-shock and cold-adaptation genes through strategies such as DNA supercoiling, distinctive signatures in promoter regions and/or the action of CSPs on mRNAs, among others. In this review, we describe the main findings about how organisms adapt to cold, with a focus in prokaryotes and linking the information with findings in eukaryotes.

Human PNPase causes RNA stabilization and accumulation of R-loops in the Escherichia coli model system

Polyribonucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase) is a phosphorolytic RNA exonuclease highly conserved throughout evolution. In Escherichia coli, PNPase controls complex phenotypic traits like biofilm formation and growth at low temperature. In human cells, PNPase is located in mitochondria, where it is implicated in the RNA import from the cytoplasm, the mitochondrial RNA degradation and the processing of R-loops, namely stable RNA-DNA hybrids displacing a DNA strand. In this work, we show that the human PNPase (hPNPase) expressed in E. coli causes oxidative stress, SOS response activation and R-loops accumulation. Hundreds of E. coli RNAs are stabilized in presence of hPNPase, whereas only few transcripts are destabilized. Moreover, phenotypic traits typical of E. coli strains lacking PNPase are strengthened in presence of the human enzyme. We discuss the hypothesis that hPNPase expressed in E. coli may bind, but not degrade, the RNA, in agreement with previous in vitro data showing that phosphate concentrations in the range of those found in the bacterial cytoplasm and, more relevant, in the mitochondria, inhibit its activity.

How hydrolytic exoribonucleases impact human disease: Two sides of the same story

RNAs are extremely important molecules inside the cell which perform many different functions. For example, messenger RNAs, transfer RNAs, and ribosomal RNAs are involved in protein synthesis, whereas non-coding RNAs have numerous regulatory roles. Ribonucleases are the enzymes responsible for the processing and degradation of all types of RNAs, having multiple roles in every aspect of RNA metabolism. However, the involvement of RNases in disease is still not well understood. This review focuses on the involvement of the RNase II/RNB family of 3'-5' exoribonucleases in human disease. This can be attributed to direct effects, whereby mutations in the eukaryotic enzymes of this family (Dis3 (or Rrp44), Dis3L1 (or Dis3L), and Dis3L2) are associated with a disease, or indirect effects, whereby mutations in the prokaryotic counterparts of RNase II/RNB family (RNase II and/or RNase R) affect the physiology and virulence of several human pathogens. In this review, we will compare the structural and biochemical characteristics of the members of the RNase II/RNB family of enzymes. The outcomes of mutations impacting enzymatic function will be revisited, in terms of both the direct and indirect effects on disease. Furthermore, we also describe the SARS-CoV-2 viral exoribonuclease and its importance to combat COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, RNases may be a good therapeutic target to reduce bacterial and viral pathogenicity. These are the two perspectives on RNase II/RNB family enzymes that will be presented in this review.

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae Exoribonuclease R Is Required for Complete Virulence in Rice, Optimal Motility, and Growth Under Stress

Exoribonuclease R (RNase R) is a 3' hydrolytic exoribonuclease that can degrade structured RNA. Mutation in RNase R affects virulence of certain human pathogenic bacteria. The aim of this study was to determine whether RNase R is necessary for virulence of the phytopathogen that causes bacterial blight in rice, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). In silico analysis has indicated that RNase R is highly conserved among various xanthomonads. Amino acid sequence alignment of Xoo RNase R with RNase R from various taxa indicated that Xoo RNase R clustered with RNase R of order Xanthomonadales. To study its role in virulence, we generated a gene disruption mutant of Xoo RNase R. The Xoo rnr^- mutant is moderately virulence deficient, and the complementing strain (rnr^-/pHM1::rnr) rescued the virulence deficiency of the mutant. We investigated swimming and swarming motilities in both nutrient-deficient minimal media and nutrient-optimal media. We observed that RNase R mutation has adversely affected the swimming and swarming motilities of Xoo in optimal media. However, in nutrient-deficient media only swimming motility was noticeably affected. Growth curves in optimal media at suboptimal temperature (15°C cold stress) indicate that the Xoo rnr^- mutant grows more slowly than the Xoo wild type and complementing strain (rnr^-/pHM1::rnr). Given these findings, we report for the first time that RNase R function is necessary for complete virulence of Xoo in rice. It is also important for motility of Xoo in media and for growth of Xoo at suboptimal temperature.

Regulation of mRNA decay in E. coli

Detailed studies of the Gram-negative model bacterium, Escherichia coli, have demonstrated that post-transcriptional events exert important and possibly greater control over gene regulation than transcription initiation or effective translation. Thus, over the past 30 years, considerable effort has been invested in understanding the pathways of mRNA turnover in E. coli. Although it is assumed that most of the ribonucleases and accessory proteins involved in mRNA decay have been identified, our understanding of the regulation of mRNA decay is still incomplete. Furthermore, the vast majority of the studies on mRNA decay have been conducted on exponentially growing cells. Thus, the mechanism of mRNA decay as currently outlined may not accurately reflect what happens when cells find themselves under a variety of stress conditions, such as, nutrient starvation, changes in pH and temperature, as well as a host of others. While the cellular machinery for degradation is relatively constant over a wide range of conditions, intracellular levels of specific ribonucleases can vary depending on the growth conditions. Substrate competition will also modulate ribonucleolytic activity. Post-transcriptional modifications of transcripts by polyadenylating enzymes may favor a specific ribonuclease activity. Interactions with small regulatory RNAs and RNA binding proteins add additional complexities to mRNA functionality and stability. Since many of the ribonucleases are found at the inner membrane, the physical location of a transcript may help determine its half-life. Here we discuss the properties and role of the enzymes involved in mRNA decay as well as the multiple factors that may affect mRNA decay under various in vivo conditions.

Trans-acting regulators of ribonuclease activity

RNA metabolism needs to be tightly regulated in response to changes in cellular physiology. Ribonucleases (RNases) play an essential role in almost all aspects of RNA metabolism, including processing, degradation, and recycling of RNA molecules. Thus, living systems have evolved to regulate RNase activity at multiple levels, including transcription, post-transcription, post-translation, and cellular localization. In addition, various trans-acting regulators of RNase activity have been discovered in recent years. This review focuses on the physiological roles and underlying mechanisms of trans-acting regulators of RNase activity.

Trans-acting regulators of ribonuclease activity

RNA metabolism needs to be tightly regulated in response to changes in cellular physiology. Ribonucleases (RNases) play an essential role in almost all aspects of RNA metabolism, including processing, degradation, and recycling of RNA molecules. Thus, living systems have evolved to regulate RNase activity at multiple levels, including transcription, post-transcription, post-translation, and cellular localization. In addition, various trans-acting regulators of RNase activity have been discovered in recent years. This review focuses on the physiological roles and underlying mechanisms of trans-acting regulators of RNase activity.

Genome-Wide Analysis of RNA Decay in the Cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. Strain PCC 7002

RNA degradation is an important process that affects the final concentration of individual mRNAs, affecting protein expression and cellular physiology. Studies of how RNA is degraded increase our knowledge of this fundamental process as well as enable the creation of genetic tools to manipulate RNA stability. By studying global transcript turnover, we searched for sequence elements that correlated with transcript (in)stability and used these sequences to guide tool design. This study probes global RNA turnover in a cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002, that both has a unique array of RNases that facilitate RNA degradation and is an industrially relevant strain that could be used to convert CO₂ and sunlight into useful products.

RNA degradation is an important process that influences the ultimate concentration of individual proteins inside cells. While the main enzymes that facilitate this process have been identified, global maps of RNA turnover are available for only a few species. Even in these cases, there are few sequence elements that are known to enhance or destabilize a native transcript; even fewer confer the same effect when added to a heterologous transcript. To address this knowledge gap, we assayed genome-wide RNA degradation in the cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002 by collecting total RNA samples after stopping nascent transcription with rifampin. We quantified the abundance of each position in the transcriptome as a function of time using RNA-sequencing data and later analyzed the global mRNA decay map using machine learning principles. Half-lives, calculated on a per-ORF (open reading frame) basis, were extremely short, with a median half-life of only 0.97 min. Despite extremely rapid turnover of most mRNA, transcripts encoding proteins involved in photosynthesis were both highly expressed and highly stable. Upon inspection of these stable transcripts, we identified an enriched motif in the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) that had similarity to Rho-independent terminators. We built statistical models for half-life prediction and used them to systematically identify sequence motifs in both 5′ and 3′ UTRs that correlate with stabilized transcripts. We found that transcripts linked to a terminator containing a poly(U) tract had a longer half-life than both those without a poly(U) tract and those without a terminator.

IMPORTANCE RNA degradation is an important process that affects the final concentration of individual mRNAs, affecting protein expression and cellular physiology. Studies of how RNA is degraded increase our knowledge of this fundamental process as well as enable the creation of genetic tools to manipulate RNA stability. By studying global transcript turnover, we searched for sequence elements that correlated with transcript (in)stability and used these sequences to guide tool design. This study probes global RNA turnover in a cyanobacterium, Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 7002, that both has a unique array of RNases that facilitate RNA degradation and is an industrially relevant strain that could be used to convert CO₂ and sunlight into useful products.

An RNA-seq based comparative approach reveals the transcriptome-wide interplay between 3'-to-5' exoRNases and RNase Y

RNA degradation is an essential process that allows bacteria to control gene expression and adapt to various environmental conditions. It is usually initiated by endoribonucleases (endoRNases), which produce intermediate fragments that are subsequently degraded by exoribonucleases (exoRNases). However, global studies of the coordinated action of these enzymes are lacking. Here, we compare the targetome of endoRNase Y with the targetomes of 3′-to-5′ exoRNases from Streptococcus pyogenes, namely, PNPase, YhaM, and RNase R. We observe that RNase Y preferentially cleaves after guanosine, generating substrate RNAs for the 3′-to-5′ exoRNases. We demonstrate that RNase Y processing is followed by trimming of the newly generated 3′ ends by PNPase and YhaM. Conversely, the RNA 5′ ends produced by RNase Y are rarely further trimmed. Our strategy enables the identification of processing events that are otherwise undetectable. Importantly, this approach allows investigation of the intricate interplay between endo- and exoRNases on a genome-wide scale.

Bacterial RNA degradation is typically initiated by endoribonucleases and followed by exoribonucleases. Here the authors report the targetome of endoRNase Y in Streptococcus pyogenes, revealing the interplay between RNase Y and 3′-to-5′ exoribonuclease PNPase and YhaM.

RNA-binding as chaperones of DNA binding proteins from starved cells

DNA-binding proteins from starved cells (Dps) in Escherichia coli protects DNA from multiple stresses during the stationary phase by forming a stable Dps-DNA complex. In contrast, Dps cannot bind to DNA during the exponential phase and it has not been clear why Dps conditionally binds to DNA depending on the growth phase. In this study, we show that DNA-free Dps in the exponential phase can also bind to RNA and the preemptive binding of RNA precludes DNA from interacting with Dps. The critical role of RNA in modulating the stability and functional competence of Dps and their morphology, leads us to propose a two-state model of Dps in executing stress responses. In the exponential phase, Dps is present predominantly as ribonucleoprotein complex. Under starvation, RNAs are degraded by up-regulated RNases, activating Dps to bind with chromosomal DNAs protecting them from diverse stresses. A dual role of RNA as an inhibitor of DNA binding and chaperone to keep dynamic functional status of Dps would be crucial for operating an immediate protection of chromosomal DNAs on starvation. The holdase-type chaperoning role of RNA in Dps-mediated stress responses would shed light on the role of RNAs as chaperone (Chaperna).

mRNA Degradation Rates Are Coupled to Metabolic Status in Mycobacterium smegmatis

The logistics of tuberculosis therapy are difficult, requiring multiple drugs for many months. Mycobacterium tuberculosis survives in part by entering nongrowing states in which it is metabolically less active and thus less susceptible to antibiotics. Basic knowledge on how M. tuberculosis survives during these low-metabolism states is incomplete, and we hypothesize that optimized energy resource management is important. Here, we report that slowed mRNA turnover is a common feature of mycobacteria under energy stress but is not dependent on the mechanisms that have generally been postulated in the literature. Finally, we found that mRNA stability and growth status can be decoupled by a drug that causes growth arrest but increases metabolic activity, indicating that mRNA stability responds to metabolic status rather than to growth rate per se. Our findings suggest a need to reorient studies of global mRNA stabilization to identify novel mechanisms that are presumably responsible.

The success of Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a human pathogen is due in part to its ability to survive stress conditions, such as hypoxia or nutrient deprivation, by entering nongrowing states. In these low-metabolism states, M. tuberculosis can tolerate antibiotics and develop genetically encoded antibiotic resistance, making its metabolic adaptation to stress crucial for survival. Numerous bacteria, including M. tuberculosis, have been shown to reduce their rates of mRNA degradation under growth limitation and stress. While the existence of this response appears to be conserved across species, the underlying bacterial mRNA stabilization mechanisms remain unknown. To better understand the biology of nongrowing mycobacteria, we sought to identify the mechanistic basis of mRNA stabilization in the nonpathogenic model Mycobacterium smegmatis. We found that mRNA half-life was responsive to energy stress, with carbon starvation and hypoxia causing global mRNA stabilization. This global stabilization was rapidly reversed when hypoxia-adapted cultures were reexposed to oxygen, even in the absence of new transcription. The stringent response and RNase levels did not explain mRNA stabilization, nor did transcript abundance. This led us to hypothesize that metabolic changes during growth cessation impact the activities of degradation proteins, increasing mRNA stability. Indeed, bedaquiline and isoniazid, two drugs with opposing effects on cellular energy status, had opposite effects on mRNA half-lives in growth-arrested cells. Taken together, our results indicate that mRNA stability in mycobacteria is not directly regulated by growth status but rather is dependent on the status of energy metabolism.

Bacterial ribonucleases and their roles in RNA metabolism

Ribonucleases (RNases) are mediators in most reactions of RNA metabolism. In recent years, there has been a surge of new information about RNases and the roles they play in cell physiology. In this review, a detailed description of bacterial RNases is presented, focusing primarily on those from Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, the model Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms, from which most of our current knowledge has been derived. Information from other organisms is also included, where relevant. In an extensive catalog of the known bacterial RNases, their structure, mechanism of action, physiological roles, genetics, and possible regulation are described. The RNase complement of E. coli and B. subtilis is compared, emphasizing the similarities, but especially the differences, between the two. Included are figures showing the three major RNA metabolic pathways in E. coli and B. subtilis and highlighting specific steps in each of the pathways catalyzed by the different RNases. This compilation of the currently available knowledge about bacterial RNases will be a useful tool for workers in the RNA field and for others interested in learning about this area.

Post-Transcriptional Regulation of tRNA Pools To Govern the Central Dogma: A Perspective

Since their initial discovery, tRNAs have risen from sole adapter molecules during protein synthesis to pivotal modulators of gene expression. Through their many interactions with tRNA-associated protein factors, they play a central role in maintaining cell homeostasis, especially regarding the fine-tuning in response to a rapidly changing cellular environment. Here, we provide a perspective on current tRNA topics with a spotlight on the regulation of post-transcriptional shaping of tRNA molecules. First, we give an update on aberrant structural features that a yet functional fraction of mitochondrial tRNAs can exhibit. Then, we outline several aspects of the regulatory contribution of ribonucleases with a focus on tRNA processing versus tRNA elimination. We close with a comment on the possible consequences for the intracellular examination of nascent tRNA precursors regarding respective processing factors that have been shown to associate with the tRNA transcription machinery in alternative moonlighting functions.

In vivo 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease targetomes of Streptococcus pyogenes

To cope with harsh environments and cause infection, bacteria need to constantly adjust gene expression. Ribonucleases (RNases) control the abundance of regulatory and protein-coding RNA through degradation and maturation. The current characterization of 3′-to-5′ exoribonucleases (exoRNases), processing RNAs from their 3′ end, is solely based on the description of a limited number of targets processed by these RNases. Here, we characterized bacterial 3′-to-5′ exoRNase targetomes. We show that YhaM, polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase), and RNase R have exoribonucleolytic activities in the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes. We demonstrate that PNPase is the main 3′-to-5′ exoRNase participating in RNA decay, we show that RNase R has a limited processing activity, and we describe an intriguing RNA processing behavior for YhaM.

mRNA decay plays an essential role in the control of gene expression in bacteria. Exoribonucleases (exoRNases), which trim transcripts starting from the 5′ or 3′ end, are particularly important to fully degrade unwanted transcripts and renew the pool of nucleotides available in the cell. While recent techniques have allowed genome-wide identification of ribonuclease (RNase) targets in bacteria in vivo, none of the 3′-to-5′ exoRNase targetomes (i.e., global processing sites) have been studied so far. Here, we report the targetomes of YhaM, polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase), and RNase R of the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes. We determined that YhaM is an unspecific enzyme that trims a few nucleotides and targets the majority of transcript ends, generated either by transcription termination or by endonucleolytic activity. The molecular determinants for YhaM-limited processivity are yet to be deciphered. We showed that PNPase clears the cell from mRNA decay fragments produced by endoribonucleases (endoRNases) and is the major 3′-to-5′ exoRNase for RNA turnover in S. pyogenes. In particular, PNPase is responsible for the degradation of regulatory elements from 5′ untranslated regions. However, we observed little RNase R activity in standard culture conditions. Overall, our study sheds light on the very distinct features of S. pyogenes 3′-to-5′ exoRNases.

Major 3'-5' Exoribonucleases in the Metabolism of Coding and Non-coding RNA

3'-5' exoribonucleases are key enzymes in the degradation of superfluous or aberrant RNAs and in the maturation of precursor RNAs into their functional forms. The major bacterial 3'-5' exoribonucleases responsible for both these activities are PNPase, RNase II and RNase R. These enzymes are of ancient nature with widespread distribution. In eukaryotes, PNPase and RNase II/RNase R enzymes can be found in the cytosol and in mitochondria and chloroplasts; RNase II/RNase R-like enzymes are also found in the nucleus. Humans express one PNPase (PNPT1) and three RNase II/RNase R family members (Dis3, Dis3L and Dis3L2). These enzymes take part in a multitude of RNA surveillance mechanisms that are critical for translation accuracy. Although active against a wide range of both coding and non-coding RNAs, the different 3'-5' exoribonucleases exhibit distinct substrate affinities. The latest studies on these RNA degradative enzymes have contributed to the identification of additional homologue proteins, the uncovering of novel RNA degradation pathways, and to a better comprehension of several disease-related processes and response to stress, amongst many other exciting findings. Here, we provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview on the function, structure, regulation and substrate preference of the key 3'-5' exoribonucleases involved in RNA metabolism.

First Transcriptome Analysis of Iranian Scorpion, Mesobuthus Eupeus Venom Gland

Scorpions are generally an important source of bioactive components, including toxins and other small peptides as attractive molecules for new drug development. Mesobuthus eupeus, from medically important and widely distributed Buthidae family, is the most abundant species in Iran. Researchers are interesting on the gland of this scorpion due to the complexity of its venom. Here, we have analyzed the transcriptome based on expressed sequence tag (EST) database from the venom tissue of Iranian M. eupeus by constructing a cDNA library and subsequent Sanger sequencing of obtained inserts. Sixty-three unique transcripts were identified, which were grouped in different categories, including Toxins (44 transcripts), Cell Proteins (9 transcripts), Antimicrobial Peptides (4 transcripts) and Unknown Peptides (3 transcripts). The analysis of the ESTs revealed several new components categorized among various toxin families with effect on ion channels. Sequence analysis of a new precursor provides evidence to validate the first CaTxs from M. eupeus. The results are exploration of the diversity of precursors expressed of Iranian M. eupeus venom gland. We further described comparative analysis of venom components of Iranian M. eupeus with other sibling species.

Escherichia coli responds to environmental changes using enolasic degradosomes and stabilized DicF sRNA to alter cellular morphology

Escherichia coli RNase E is an essential enzyme that forms multicomponent ribonucleolytic complexes known as "RNA degradosomes." These complexes consist of four major components: RNase E, PNPase, RhlB RNA helicase, and enolase. However, the role of enolase in the RNase E/degradosome is not understood. Here, we report that presence of enolase in the RNase E/degradosome under anaerobic conditions regulates cell morphology, resulting in Ecoli MG1655 cell filamentation. Under anaerobic conditions, enolase bound to the RNase E/degradosome stabilizes the small RNA (sRNA) DicF, i.e., the inhibitor of the cell division gene ftsZ, through chaperon protein Hfq-dependent regulation. RNase E/enolase distribution changes from membrane-associated patterns under aerobic to diffuse patterns under anaerobic conditions. When the enolase-RNase E/degradosome interaction is disrupted, the anaerobically induced characteristics disappear. We provide a mechanism by which Ecoli uses enolase-bound degradosomes to switch from rod-shaped to filamentous form in response to anaerobiosis by regulating RNase E subcellular distribution, RNase E enzymatic activity, and the stability of the sRNA DicF required for the filamentous transition. In contrast to Ecoli nonpathogenic strains, pathogenic Ecoli strains predominantly have multiple copies of sRNA DicF in their genomes, with cell filamentation previously being linked to bacterial pathogenesis. Our data suggest a mechanism for bacterial cell filamentation during infection under anaerobic conditions.

RNA search engines empower the bacterial intranet

RNA acts not only as an information bearer in the biogenesis of proteins from genes, but also as a regulator that participates in the control of gene expression. In bacteria, small RNA molecules (sRNAs) play controlling roles in numerous processes and help to orchestrate complex regulatory networks. Such processes include cell growth and development, response to stress and metabolic change, transcription termination, cell-to-cell communication, and the launching of programmes for host invasion. All these processes require recognition of target messenger RNAs by the sRNAs. This review summarizes recent results that have provided insights into how bacterial sRNAs are recruited into effector ribonucleoprotein complexes that can seek out and act upon target transcripts. The results hint at how sRNAs and their protein partners act as pattern-matching search engines that efficaciously regulate gene expression, by performing with specificity and speed while avoiding off-target effects. The requirements for efficient searches of RNA patterns appear to be common to all domains of life.

A Multiplex RT-PCR Assay for S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. Detection in Raw Milk with Pre-enrichment

This study firstly developed a multiplex real-time PCR (RT-PCR) technique combined with a pre-enrichment step to simultaneously detect Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) and Salmonella spp. in raw milk and the dairy farm environment (feces, soil, feed, water) in one reaction. Brain heart infusion (BHI) broth was selected for the enrichment step to increase the density of the target bacteria by using an incubation of 4 h before multiplex RT-PCR. The results showed that the detection limit of the multiplex real-time assay was approximately 102 CFU/mL for pure cultures and artificially contaminated milk without enrichment, while 12, 14, and 10 CFU/25 mL, respectively, for S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. after pre-enrichment. The newly developed multiplex RT-PCR assay was applied to 46 dairy farm environmental samples and raw milk samples covering a wide variety of sample types. The results demonstrated that the multiplex RT-PCR assay coupled with the BHI enrichment broth was suitable for the simultaneous screening of S. aureus, L. monocytogenes, and Salmonella spp. in the pasture environment and in raw milk. The multiplex RT-PCR assay clearly and successfully shortened the total detection time and reduced labor compared to conventional culture-based methods for testing natural samples.

Growth Phase-dependent Variation of RNase BN/Z Affects Small RNAs: REGULATION OF 6S RNA

RNase BN, the RNase Z family member in E. coli, can participate in the processing of tRNA precursors. However, this function only becomes apparent when other processing enzymes are absent, raising the question of its primary physiological role. Here, we show that RNase BN itself is subject to growth phase-dependent regulation, because both rbn mRNA and RNase BN protein are at their highest levels in early exponential phase, but then decrease dramatically and are essentially absent in stationary phase. As a consequence of this variation, certain small RNAs, such as 6S RNA, remain low in exponential phase cells, and increase greatly in stationary phase. RNase BN affects 6S RNA abundance by decreasing its stability in exponential phase. RNase BN levels increase rapidly as cells exit stationary phase and are primarily responsible for the decrease in 6S RNA that accompanies this process. Purified RNase BN directly cleaves 6S RNA as shown by in vitro assays, and the 6S RNA:pRNA duplex is an even more favorable substrate of RNase BN. The exoribonuclease activity of RNase BN is unnecessary because all its action on 6S RNA is due to endonucleolytic cleavages. These data indicate that RNase BN plays an important role in determining levels of the global transcription regulator, 6S RNA, throughout the growth cycle.

Regulation of mRNA Decay in Bacteria

Gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria use a variety of enzymatic pathways to degrade mRNAs. Although several recent reviews have outlined these pathways, much less attention has been paid to the regulation of mRNA decay. The functional half-life of a particular mRNA, which affects how much protein is synthesized from it, is determined by a combination of multiple factors. These include, but are not necessarily limited to, (a) stability elements at either the 5' or the 3' terminus, (b) posttranscriptional modifications, (c) ribosome density on individual mRNAs, (d) small regulatory RNA (sRNA) interactions with mRNAs, (e) regulatory proteins that alter ribonuclease binding affinities, (f) the presence or absence of endonucleolytic cleavage sites, (g) control of intracellular ribonuclease levels, and (h) physical location within the cell. Changes in physiological conditions associated with environmental alterations can significantly alter the impact of these factors in the decay of a particular mRNA.

Reversible acetylation on Lys501 regulates the activity of RNase II

RNase II, a 3' to 5' processive exoribonuclease, is the major hydrolytic enzyme in Escherichia coli accounting for ∼90% of the total activity. Despite its importance, little is actually known about regulation of this enzyme. We show here that one residue, Lys501, is acetylated in RNase II. This modification, reversibly controlled by the acetyltransferase Pka, and the deacetylase CobB, affects binding of the substrate and thus decreases the catalytic activity of RNase II. As a consequence, the steady-state level of target RNAs of RNase II may be altered in the cells. We also find that under conditions of slowed growth, the acetylation level of RNase II is elevated and the activity of RNase II decreases, emphasizing the importance of this regulatory process. These findings indicate that acetylation can regulate the activity of a bacterial ribonuclease.

A role for REP sequences in regulating translation

Repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP) sequences are highly structured elements found downstream of ∼500 genes in Escherichia coli that result in extensive stem-loop structures in their mRNAs. However, their physiological role has remained elusive. Here, we show that REP sequences can downregulate translation, but only if they are within 15 nt of a termination codon; a spacing of 16 nt has no effect, suggesting that the REP element acts to stall ribosome movement. Ribosome stalling leads to cleavage of the mRNA and induction of the trans-translation process. Using nrdAB as a model, we find that its regulation can be partially reversed by overexpression of RNA helicases and can be fully overcome upon UV stress, emphasizing the importance of this regulatory process. Since 50% of REP-associated genes have these elements within the critical 15 nt, these findings identify a regulatory mechanism with the potential to affect translation from a large number of genes.

How bacterial cells keep ribonucleases under control

Ribonucleases (RNases) play an essential role in essentially every aspect of RNA metabolism, but they also can be destructive enzymes that need to be regulated to avoid unwanted degradation of RNA molecules. As a consequence, cells have evolved multiple strategies to protect RNAs against RNase action. They also utilize a variety of mechanisms to regulate the RNases themselves. These include post-transcriptional regulation, post-translational modification, trans-acting inhibitors, cellular localization, as well as others that are less well studied. In this review, I will briefly discuss how RNA molecules are protected and then examine in detail our current understanding of the mechanisms known to regulate individual RNases.

Competition between Decapping Complex Formation and Ubiquitin-Mediated Proteasomal Degradation Controls Human Dcp2 Decapping Activity

mRNA decapping is a central step in eukaryotic mRNA decay that simultaneously shuts down translation initiation and activates mRNA degradation. A major complex responsible for decapping consists of the decapping enzyme Dcp2 in association with decapping enhancers. An important question is how the activity and accumulation of Dcp2 are regulated at the cellular level to ensure the specificity and fidelity of the Dcp2 decapping complex. Here, we show that human Dcp2 levels and activity are controlled by a competition between decapping complex assembly and Dcp2 degradation. This is mediated by a regulatory domain in the Dcp2 C terminus, which, on the one hand, promotes Dcp2 activation via decapping complex formation mediated by the decapping enhancer Hedls and, on the other hand, targets Dcp2 for ubiquitin-mediated proteasomal degradation in the absence of Hedls association. This competition between Dcp2 activation and degradation restricts the accumulation and activity of uncomplexed Dcp2, which may be important for preventing uncontrolled decapping or for regulating Dcp2 levels and activity according to cellular needs.

Next generation sequencing analysis reveals that the ribonucleases RNase II, RNase R and PNPase affect bacterial motility and biofilm formation in E. coli

Background

The RNA steady-state levels in the cell are a balance between synthesis and degradation rates. Although transcription is important, RNA processing and turnover are also key factors in the regulation of gene expression. In Escherichia coli there are three main exoribonucleases (RNase II, RNase R and PNPase) involved in RNA degradation. Although there are many studies about these exoribonucleases not much is known about their global effect in the transcriptome.

Results

In order to study the effects of the exoribonucleases on the transcriptome, we sequenced the total RNA (RNA-Seq) from wild-type cells and from mutants for each of the exoribonucleases (∆rnb, ∆rnr and ∆pnp). We compared each of the mutant transcriptome with the wild-type to determine the global effects of the deletion of each exoribonucleases in exponential phase. We determined that the deletion of RNase II significantly affected 187 transcripts, while deletion of RNase R affects 202 transcripts and deletion of PNPase affected 226 transcripts. Surprisingly, many of the transcripts are actually down-regulated in the exoribonuclease mutants when compared to the wild-type control. The results obtained from the transcriptomic analysis pointed to the fact that these enzymes were changing the expression of genes related with flagellum assembly, motility and biofilm formation. The three exoribonucleases affected some stable RNAs, but PNPase was the main exoribonuclease affecting this class of RNAs. We confirmed by qPCR some fold-change values obtained from the RNA-Seq data, we also observed that all the exoribonuclease mutants were significantly less motile than the wild-type cells. Additionally, RNase II and RNase R mutants were shown to produce more biofilm than the wild-type control while the PNPase mutant did not form biofilms.

Conclusions

In this work we demonstrate how deep sequencing can be used to discover new and relevant functions of the exoribonucleases. We were able to obtain valuable information about the transcripts affected by each of the exoribonucleases and compare the roles of the three enzymes. Our results show that the three exoribonucleases affect cell motility and biofilm formation that are two very important factors for cell survival, especially for pathogenic cells.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1237-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The role of RNase R in trans-translation and ribosomal quality control

Gene expression not only depends on the rate of transcription but is also largely controlled at the post-transcriptional level. Translation rate and mRNA decay greatly influence the final protein levels. Surveillance mechanisms are essential to ensure the quality of the RNA and proteins produced. Trans-translation is one of the most important systems in the quality control of bacterial translation. This process guarantees the destruction of abnormal proteins and also leads to degradation of the respective defective RNAs through the action of Ribonuclease R (RNase R). This exoribonuclease hydrolyzes RNAs starting from their 3' end. Besides its involvement in trans-translation, RNase R also participates in the quality control of rRNA molecules involved in ribosomal biogenesis. RNase R is thus emerging as a key factor in ensuring translation accuracy. This review focuses on issues related to the quality control of translation, with special emphasis on the role of RNase R.

Conditional, temperature-induced proteolytic regulation of cyanobacterial RNA helicase expression

Conditional proteolysis is a crucial process regulating the abundance of key regulatory proteins associated with the cell cycle, differentiation pathways, or cellular response to abiotic stress in eukaryotic and prokaryotic organisms. We provide evidence that conditional proteolysis is involved in the rapid and dramatic reduction in abundance of the cyanobacterial RNA helicase, CrhR, in response to a temperature upshift from 20 to 30°C. The proteolytic activity is not a general protein degradation response, since proteolysis is only present and/or functional in cells grown at 30°C and is only transiently active at 30°C. Degradation is also autoregulatory, since the CrhR proteolytic target is required for activation of the degradation machinery. This suggests that an autoregulatory feedback loop exists in which the target of the proteolytic machinery, CrhR, is required for activation of the system. Inhibition of translation revealed that only elongation is required for induction of the temperature-regulated proteolysis, suggesting that translation of an activating factor was already initiated at 20°C. The results indicate that Synechocystis responds to a temperature shift via two independent pathways: a CrhR-independent sensing and signal transduction pathway that regulates induction of crhR expression at low temperature and a CrhR-dependent conditional proteolytic pathway at elevated temperature. The data link the potential for CrhR RNA helicase alteration of RNA secondary structure with the autoregulatory induction of conditional proteolysis in the response of Synechocystis to temperature upshift.

Stability of bacterial toggle switches is enhanced by cell-cycle lengthening by several orders of magnitude

Bistable regulatory elements are important for nongenetic inheritance, increase of cell-to-cell heterogeneity allowing adaptation, and robust responses at the population level. Here, we study computationally the bistable genetic toggle switch-a small regulatory network consisting of a pair of mutual repressors-in growing and dividing bacteria. We show that as cells with an inhibited growth exhibit high stability of toggle states, cell growth and divisions lead to a dramatic increase of toggling rates. The toggling rates were found to increase with rate of cell growth, and can be up to six orders of magnitude larger for fast growing cells than for cells with the inhibited growth. The effect is caused mainly by the increase of protein and mRNA burst sizes associated with the faster growth. The observation that fast growth dramatically destabilizes toggle states implies that rapidly growing cells may vigorously explore the epigenetic landscape enabling nongenetic evolution, while cells with inhibited growth adhere to the local optima. This can be a clever population strategy that allows the slow growing (but stress resistant) cells to survive long periods of unfavorable conditions. Simultaneously, at favorable conditions, this stress resistant (but slowly growing-or not growing) subpopulation may be replenished due to a high switching rate from the fast growing population.

When stable RNA becomes unstable: the degradation of ribosomes in bacteria and beyond

This review takes a comparative look at the various scenarios where ribosomes are degraded in bacteria and eukaryotes with emphasis on studies involving Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. While the molecular mechanisms of degradation in bacteria and yeast appear somewhat different, we argue that the underlying causes of ribosome degradation are remarkably similar. In both model organisms during ribosomal assembly, partially formed pre-ribosomal particles can be degraded by at least two different sequentially-acting quality control pathways and fully assembled but functionally faulty ribosomes can be degraded in a separate quality control pathway. In addition, ribosomes that are both structurally- and functionally-sound can be degraded as an adaptive measure to stress.

The exosome cofactor Rrp47 is critical for the stability and normal expression of its associated exoribonuclease Rrp6 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Rrp6 is a conserved catalytic subunit of the eukaryotic nuclear exosome ribonuclease complex that functions in the productive 3' end maturation of stable RNAs, the degradation of transiently expressed noncoding transcripts and in discard pathways that eradicate the cell of incorrectly processed or assembled RNAs. The function of Rrp6 in these pathways is at least partially dependent upon its interaction with a small nuclear protein called Rrp47/Lrp1, but the underlying mechanism(s) by which Rrp47 functions in concert with Rrp6 are not established. Previous work on yeast grown in rich medium has suggested that Rrp6 expression is not markedly reduced in strains lacking Rrp47. Here we show that Rrp6 expression in rrp47∆ mutants is substantially reduced during growth in minimal medium through effects on both transcript levels and protein stability. Exogenous expression of Rrp6 enables normal levels to be attained in rrp47∆ mutants. Strikingly, exogenous expression of Rrp6 suppresses many, but not all, of the RNA processing and maturation defects observed in an rrp47∆ mutant and complements the synthetic lethality of rrp47∆ mpp6∆ and rrp47∆ rex1∆ double mutants. Increased Rrp6 expression in the resultant rrp47∆ rex1∆ double mutant suppresses the defect in the 3' maturation of box C/D snoRNAs. In contrast, increased Rrp6 expression in the rrp47∆ mpp6∆ double mutant diminishes the block in the turnover of CUTs and in the degradation of the substrates of RNA discard pathways. These results demonstrate that a principal function of Rrp47 is to facilitate appropriate expression levels of Rrp6 and support the conclusion that the Rrp6/Rrp47 complex and Rex1 provide redundant exonuclease activities for the 3' end maturation of box C/D snoRNAs.

Ribosomes regulate the stability and action of the exoribonuclease RNase R

Ribonucleases play an important role in RNA metabolism. Yet, they are also potentially destructive enzymes whose activity must be controlled. Here we describe a novel regulatory mechanism affecting RNase R, a 3' to 5' exoribonuclease able to act on essentially all RNAs including those with extensive secondary structure. Most RNase R is sequestered on ribosomes in growing cells where it is stable and participates in trans-translation. In contrast, the free form of the enzyme, which is deleterious to cells, is extremely unstable, turning over with a half-life of 2 min. RNase R binding to ribosomes is dependent on transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA)-SmpB, nonstop mRNA, and the modified form of ribosomal protein S12. Degradation of the free form of RNase R also requires tmRNA-SmpB, but this process is independent of ribosomes, indicating two distinct roles for tmRNA-SmpB. Inhibition of RNase R binding to ribosomes leads to slower growth and a massive increase in RNA degradation. These studies indicate a previously unknown role for ribosomes in cellular homeostasis.

Toggle switch: noise determines the winning gene

Bistable regulatory elements enhance heterogeneity in cell populations and, in multicellular organisms, allow cells to specialize and specify their fate. Our study demonstrates that in a system of bistable genetic switch, the noise characteristics control in which of the two epigenetic attractors the cell population will settle. We focus on two types of noise: the gene switching noise and protein dimerization noise. We found that the change of magnitudes of these noise components for one of the two competing genes introduces a large asymmetry of the protein stationary probability distribution and changes the relative probability of individual gene activation. Interestingly, an increase of noise associated with a given gene can either promote or suppress the activation of the gene, depending on the type of noise. Namely, each gene is repressed by an increase of its gene switching noise and activated by an increase of its protein-product dimerization noise. The observed effect was found robust to the large, up to fivefold deviations of the model parameters. In summary, we demonstrated that noise itself may determine the relative strength of the epigenetic attractors, which may provide a unique mode of control of cell fate decisions.

Intracellular ribonucleases involved in transcript processing and decay: precision tools for RNA

In order to adapt to changing environmental conditions and regulate intracellular events such as division, cells are constantly producing new RNAs while discarding old or defective transcripts. These functions require the coordination of numerous ribonucleases that precisely cleave and trim newly made transcripts to produce functional molecules, and rapidly destroy unnecessary cellular RNAs. In recent years our knowledge of the nature, functions and structures of these enzymes in bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes has dramatically expanded. We present here a synthetic overview of the recent development in this dynamic area which has seen the identification of many new endoribonucleases and exoribonucleases. Moreover, the increasing pace at which the structures of these enzymes, or of their catalytic domains, have been solved has provided atomic level detail into their mechanisms of action. Based on sequence conservation and structural data, these proteins have been grouped into families, some of which contain only ribonuclease members, others including a variety of nucleolytic enzymes that act upon DNA and/or RNA. At the other extreme some ribonucleases belong to families of proteins involved in a wide variety of enzymatic reactions. Functional characterization of these fascinating enzymes has provided evidence for the extreme diversity of their biological functions that include, for example, removal of poly(A) tails (deadenylation) or poly(U) tails from eukaryotic RNAs, processing of tRNA and mRNA 3' ends, maturation of rRNAs and destruction of unnecessary mRNAs. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: RNA Decay mechanisms.

Conserved bacterial RNase YbeY plays key roles in 70S ribosome quality control and 16S rRNA maturation

Quality control of ribosomes is critical for cellular function since protein mistranslation leads to severe physiological consequences. We report evidence of a previously unrecognized ribosome quality control system in bacteria that operates at the level of 70S to remove defective ribosomes. YbeY, a previously unidentified endoribonuclease, and the exonuclease RNase R act together by a process mediated specifically by the 30S ribosomal subunit, to degrade defective 70S ribosomes but not properly matured 70S ribosomes or individual subunits. Furthermore, there is essentially no fully matured 16S rRNA in a ΔybeY mutant at 45°C, making YbeY the only endoribonuclease to be implicated in the critically important processing of the 16S rRNA 3' terminus. These key roles in ribosome quality control and maturation indicate why YbeY is a member of the minimal bacterial gene set and suggest that it could be a potential target for antibacterial drugs.

Type of noise defines global attractors in bistable molecular regulatory systems

The aim of this study is to demonstrate that in molecular dynamical systems with the underlying bi- or multistability, the type of noise determines the most strongly attracting steady state or stochastic attractor. As an example we consider a simple stochastic model of autoregulatory gene with a nonlinear positive feedback, which in the deterministic approximation has two stable steady state solutions. Three types of noise are considered: transcriptional and translational - due to the small number of gene product molecules and the gene switching noise - due to gene activation and inactivation transitions. We demonstrate that the type of noise in addition to the noise magnitude dictates the allocation of probability mass between the two stable steady states. In particular, we found that when the gene switching noise dominates over the transcriptional and translational noise (which is characteristic of eukaryotes), the gene preferentially activates, while in the opposite case, when the transcriptional noise dominates (which is characteristic of prokaryotes) the gene preferentially remains inactive. Moreover, even in the zero-noise limit, when the probability mass generically concentrates in the vicinity of one of two steady states, the choice of the most strongly attracting steady state is noise type-dependent. Although the epigenetic attractors are defined with the aid of the deterministic approximation of the stochastic regulatory process, their relative attractivity is controlled by the type of noise, in addition to noise magnitude. Since noise characteristics vary during the cell cycle and development, such mode of regulation can be potentially employed by cells to switch between alternative epigenetic attractors.

The Yersinia pseudotuberculosis degradosome is required for oxidative stress, while its PNPase subunit plays a degradosome-independent role in cold growth

Yersinia polynucleotide phosphorylase (PNPase), a 3'-5' exoribonuclease, has been shown to affect growth during several stress responses. In Escherichia coli, PNPase is one of the subunits of a multiprotein complex known as the degradosome, but also has degradosome-independent functions. The carboxy-terminus of E. coli ribonuclease E (RNase E) serves as the scaffold upon which PNPase, enolase (a glycolytic enzyme), and RhlB helicase all have been shown to bind. In the yersiniae, only PNPase has thus far been shown to physically interact with RNase E. We show by bacterial two-hybrid and co-immunoprecipitation assays that RhlB and enolase also interact with RNase E. Interestingly, although PNPase is required for normal growth at cold temperatures, assembly of the yersiniae degradosome was not required. However, degradosome assembly was required for growth in the presence of reactive oxygen species. These data suggest that while the Yersinia pseudotuberculosis PNPase plays a role in the oxidative stress response through a degradosome-dependent mechanism, PNPase's role during cold stress is degradosome-independent.

Impairment of ribosomal subunit synthesis in aminoglycoside-treated ribonuclease mutants of Escherichia coli

The bacterial ribosome is an important target for many antimicrobial agents. Aminoglycoside antibiotics bind to both 30S and 50S ribosomal subunits, inhibiting translation and subunit formation. During ribosomal subunit biogenesis, ribonucleases (RNases) play an important role in rRNA processing. E. coli cells deficient for specific processing RNases are predicted to have an increased sensitivity to neomycin and paromomycin. Four RNase mutant strains showed an increased growth sensitivity to both aminoglycoside antibiotics. E. coli strains deficient for the rRNA processing enzymes RNase III, RNase E, RNase G or RNase PH showed significantly reduced subunit amounts after antibiotic treatment. A substantial increase in a 16S RNA precursor molecule was observed as well. Ribosomal RNA turnover was stimulated, and an enhancement of 16S and 23S rRNA fragmentation was detected in E. coli cells deficient for these enzymes. This work indicates that bacterial RNases may be novel antimicrobial targets.

Transfer-messenger RNA-SmpB protein regulates ribonuclease R turnover by promoting binding of HslUV and Lon proteases

RNase R, an important exoribonuclease involved in degradation of structured RNA, is subject to a novel mechanism of regulation. The enzyme is extremely unstable in rapidly growing cells but becomes stabilized under conditions of stress, such as stationary phase or cold shock. RNase R instability results from acetylation which promotes binding of tmRNA-SmpB, two trans-translation factors, to its C-terminal region. Here, we examine how binding of tmRNA-SmpB leads to proteolysis of RNase R. We show that RNase R degradation is due to two proteases, HslUV and Lon. In their absence, RNase R is stable. We also show, using an in vitro system that accurately replicates the in vivo process, that tmRNA-SmpB is not essential, but it stimulates binding of the protease to the N-terminal region of RNase R and that it does so by a direct interaction between the protease and SmpB which stabilizes protease binding. Thus, a sequence of events, initiated by acetylation of a single Lys residue, results in proteolysis of RNase R in exponential phase cells. RNase R in stationary phase or in cold-shocked cells is not acetylated, and thereby remains stable. Such a regulatory mechanism, dependent on protein acetylation, has not been observed previously in bacterial cells.

Post-translational modification of RNase R is regulated by stress-dependent reduction in the acetylating enzyme Pka (YfiQ)

RNase R is a processive exoribonuclease that plays an important role in degradation of structured RNAs in Escherichia coli. RNase R is unstable in exponential phase cells; however, under certain stress conditions, RNase R levels increase dramatically due to its stabilization. Binding of tmRNA and SmpB to the C-terminal region of RNase R is required for its instability, and this binding is regulated by acetylation of a single residue, Lys544, in exponential phase cells. RNase R is not acetylated in stationary phase. We show here that only exponential phase RNase R is acetylated because the modifying enzyme, protein lysine acetyltransferase, Pka (YfiQ), is absent from late exponential and stationary phase cells. As a consequence, newly synthesized RNase R remains unmodified. Together with the turnover of preexisting acetylated RNase R, no modified RNase R remains in stationary phase. We find that RNase R in cold-shocked cells also lacks the acetyl modification due to the absence of Pka. These data indicate that RNase R stability depends on Pka, which itself is regulated under stress conditions.

Acetylation regulates the stability of a bacterial protein: growth stage-dependent modification of RNase R

RNase R, an Escherichia coli exoribonuclease important for degradation of structured RNAs, increases 3- to 10-fold under certain stress conditions, due to an increased half-life for this usually unstable protein. Components of the trans-translation machinery, tmRNA, and its associated protein, SmpB, are essential for RNase R instability. However, it is not understood why exponential phase RNase R is unstable or how it becomes stabilized in stationary phase. Here, we show that these phenomena are regulated by acetylation catalyzed by YfiQ protein. One residue, Lys544, is acetylated in exponential phase RNase R, but not in the stationary phase protein, resulting in tighter binding of tmRNA-SmpB to the C-terminal region of exponential phase RNase R and subsequent proteolytic degradation. Removal of the positive charge at Lys544 or a negative charge in the C-terminal region likely disrupts their interaction, facilitating tmRNA-SmpB binding. These findings indicate that acetylation can regulate the stability of a bacterial protein.

A highly conserved protein of unknown function in Sinorhizobium meliloti affects sRNA regulation similar to Hfq

The SMc01113/YbeY protein, belonging to the UPF0054 family, is highly conserved in nearly every bacterium. However, the function of these proteins still remains elusive. Our results show that SMc01113/YbeY proteins share structural similarities with the MID domain of the Argonaute (AGO) proteins, and might similarly bind to a small-RNA (sRNA) seed, making a special interaction with the phosphate on the 5′-side of the seed, suggesting they may form a component of the bacterial sRNA pathway. Indeed, eliminating SMc01113/YbeY expression in Sinorhizobium meliloti produces symbiotic and physiological phenotypes strikingly similar to those of the hfq mutant. Hfq, an RNA chaperone, is central to bacterial sRNA-pathway. We evaluated the expression of 13 target genes in the smc01113 and hfq mutants. Further, we predicted the sRNAs that may potentially target these genes, and evaluated the accumulation of nine sRNAs in WT and smc01113 and hfq mutants. Similar to hfq, smc01113 regulates the accumulation of sRNAs as well as the target mRNAs. AGOs are central components of the eukaryotic sRNA machinery and conceptual parallels between the prokaryotic and eukaryotic sRNA pathways have long been drawn. Our study provides the first line of evidence for such conceptual parallels. Furthermore, our investigation gives insights into the sRNA-mediated regulation of stress adaptation in S. meliloti.

Non-stop mRNA decay initiates at the ribosome

The translation machinery deciphers genetic information encoded within mRNAs to synthesize proteins needed for various cellular functions. Defective mRNAs that lack in-frame stop codons trigger non-productive stalling of ribosomes. We investigated how cells deal with such defective mRNAs, and present evidence to demonstrate that RNase R, a processive 3'-to-5' exoribonuclease, is recruited to stalled ribosomes for the specific task of degrading defective mRNAs. The recruitment process is selective for non-stop mRNAs and is dependent on the activities of SmpB protein and tmRNA. Most intriguingly, our analysis reveals that a unique structural feature of RNase R, the C-terminal lysine-rich (K-rich) domain, is required both for productive ribosome engagement and targeted non-stop mRNA decay activities of the enzyme. These findings provide new insights into how a general RNase is recruited to the translation machinery and highlight a novel role for the ribosome as a platform for initiating non-stop mRNA decay.

A novel mechanism for ribonuclease regulation: transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) and its associated protein SmpB regulate the stability of RNase R

The amount of RNase R, an important degradative exoribonuclease, increases 3-10-fold under a variety of stress conditions. This elevation is due to posttranslational regulation in which the highly unstable RNase R protein becomes stabilized during stress. Here we identify two components of the trans-translation machinery, transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA) and SmpB, that are responsible for the short half-life of RNase R in exponential phase cells. The absence of either lengthens the half-life of RNase R in vivo >6-fold. SmpB directly interacts with RNase R in vitro and is stimulated by tmRNA. The C-terminal region of RNase R, encompassing its basic region and adjacent S1 domain are required for the interaction; their removal eliminates binding and stabilizes RNase R in vivo. However, the binding of SmpB and tmRNA does not alter RNase R activity. These data define a previously unknown regulatory process in which the stability of an RNase is determined by its interaction with an RNA and an RNA-associated protein.