In:
Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 6, No. 1 ( 2016-11-11)
Abstract:
Small regulatory RNAs comprise critically important modulators of gene expression in bacteria, yet very little is known about their prevalence and functions in Rickettsia species. R. conorii , the causative agent of Mediterranean spotted fever, is a tick-borne pathogen that primarily infects microvascular endothelium in humans. We have determined the transcriptional landscape of R. conorii during infection of H uman M icrovascular E ndothelial C ells (HMECs) by strand-specific RNA sequencing to identify 4 riboswitches, 13 trans-acting (intergenic), and 22 cis-acting (antisense) small RNAs (termed ‘ Rc _sR’s). Independent expression of four novel trans-acting sRNAs ( Rc _sR31, Rc _sR33, Rc _sR35, and Rc _sR42) and known bacterial sRNAs (6S, RNaseP_bact_a, ffs, and α-tmRNA) was next confirmed by Northern hybridization. Comparative analysis during infection of HMECs vis-à-vis tick AAE2 cells revealed significantly higher expression of Rc _sR35 and Rc _sR42 in HMECs, whereas Rc _sR31 and Rc _sR33 were expressed at similar levels in both cell types. We further predicted a total of 502 genes involved in all important biological processes as potential targets of Rc _sRs and validated the interaction of Rc _sR42 with cydA (cytochrome d ubiquinol oxidase subunit I). Our findings constitute the first evidence of the existence of post-transcriptional riboregulatory mechanisms in R. conorii and interactions between a novel Rc _sR and its target mRNA.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2045-2322
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2016
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2615211-3
