Hfq-binding antisense small RNAs of Escherichia coli, SgrS and RyhB, mediate the destabilization of target mRNAs in an RNase E-dependent manner. SgrS, whose expression is induced in response to phosphosugar stress, act on the ptsG mRNA encoding a major glucose transporter, while RyhB, whose expression is induced in response to Fe depletion, acts on several mRNAs encoding Fe-binding proteins. In this report, we addressed the question of how SgrS and RyhB RNAs cooperate with RNase E to destabilize the target mRNAs. We demonstrate that Hfq along with SgrS and RyhB copurified with RNase E but not with truncated RNase E. In addition, we show that RNase E but not other degradosome components copurified with Hfq. Taken together, we conclude that RNase E forms variable ribonucleoprotein complexes with Hfq/small RNAs through its C-terminal scaffold region. These complexes, distinct from the RNA degradosome, may act as specialized RNA decay machines that initiate the degradation of mRNAs targeted by each small RNA. The present finding has uncovered the mechanical basis of mRNA destabilization mediated by bacterial small RNAs. The formation of ribonucleoprotein complexes containing RNases could be a general way by which small RNAs destabilize target mRNAs in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes.

Hfq-dependent sRNAs contain, at least, an mRNA base-pairing region, an Hfq-binding site, and a Rho-independent terminator. Recently, we found that the terminator poly(U) of Escherichia coli sRNAs is essential for Hfq binding and therefore for riboregulation. In this study, we tried to identify additional components within Hfq-binding sRNAs required for efficient Hfq binding by using SgrS as a model. We demonstrate by mutational and biochemical studies that an internal hairpin and an immediately upstream U-rich sequence also are required for efficient Hfq binding. We propose that the functional Hfq-binding module of SgrS consists of an internal hairpin preceded by a U-rich sequence and a Rho-independent terminator with a long poly(U) tail. We also show that the Rho-independent terminator alone can act as a functional Hfq-binding module when it is preceded by an internal U-rich sequence. The 39 region of most known sRNAs share the features corresponding to either a doubleor single-hairpin-type Hfq-binding module. We also demonstrate that increasing the spacing between the base-pairing region and the Hfq-binding module reduces or impairs the silencing ability. These findings allowed us to design synthetic Hfq-binding sRNAs to target desired mRNAs.

SgrS is an Hfq-binding small RNA that is induced under glucose phosphate stress in Escherichia coli. It forms a specific ribonucleoprotein complex with Hfq and RNase E resulting in translational repression and rapid degradation of ptsG mRNA, encoding the glucose transporter. Here, we report translational silencing of ptsG mRNA in a defined in vitro system. We demonstrate that SgrS and Hfq are the minimum components for translational silencing to faithfully reproduce the reaction in cells. We show that ptsG-SgrS base pairing is sufficient to cause translational repression when the ptsG mRNA is forced to base pair with SgrS without the help of Hfq. The extent of translational repression correlates with the extent of duplex formation. We conclude that base pairing itself but not Hfq is directly responsible for translational silencing and the major role of Hfq in gene silencing is to stimulate the base pairing between SgrS and ptsG mRNA. This simple mechanism is in striking contrast to miRNA action in eukaryote in which the RNA is believed to act only as a guide of protein partners.base pairing ͉ in vitro reconstitution ͉ translational repression ͉ SgrS

SummaryEscherichia coli SgrS is an Hfq-binding small RNA that is induced under glucose-phosphate stress to cause translational repression and RNase E-dependent rapid degradation of ptsG mRNA encoding the major glucose transporter. A 31-nt-long stretch in the 3Ј region of SgrS is partially complementary to the translation initiation region of ptsG mRNA. We showed previously that SgrS alone causes translational repression when pre-annealed with ptsG mRNA by a high-temperature treatment in vitro. Here, we studied translational repression of ptsG mRNA in vitro by synthetic RNA oligonucleotides (oligos) to define the SgrS region required for translational repression. We first demonstrate that a 31 nt RNA oligo corresponding to the base-pairing region is sufficient for translational inhibition of ptsG mRNA. Then, we show that RNA oligo can be shortened to 14 nt without losing its effect. Evidence shows that the 14 nt base-pairing region is sufficient to inhibit ptsG translation in the context of full-length SgrS in vivo. We conclude that SgrS 168-181 is a minimal base-pairing region for translational inhibition of ptsG mRNA. Interestingly, the 14 nt oligo efficiently inhibited ptsG translation without the high-temperature pre-treatment, suggesting that remodelling of structured SgrS is an important mechanism by which Hfq promotes the base pairing.

Background: ASR is categorized as a microbial sensory rhodopsin. Results: ASR represses the transcription of the chromatic adaptive gene cpcB through its C-terminal region. Conclusion:We demonstrate a novel function of a retinal-containing protein, and suggest that a membrane-spanning protein can function as a transcriptional factor. Significance: The knowledge gained in this study will help us to understand the functional diversity of microbial rhodopsins.