Bacillus subtilis possesses three essential enzymes thought to be involved in mRNA decay to varying degrees, namely RNase Y, RNase J1, and RNase III. Using recently developed high-resolution tiling arrays, we examined the effect of depletion of each of these enzymes on RNA abundance over the whole genome. The data are consistent with a model in which the degradation of a significant number of transcripts is dependent on endonucleolytic cleavage by RNase Y, followed by degradation of the downstream fragment by the 5′–3′ exoribonuclease RNase J1. However, many full-size transcripts also accumulate under conditions of RNase J1 insufficiency, compatible with a model whereby RNase J1 degrades transcripts either directly from the 5′ end or very close to it. Although the abundance of a large number of transcripts was altered by depletion of RNase III, this appears to result primarily from indirect transcriptional effects. Lastly, RNase depletion led to the stabilization of many low-abundance potential regulatory RNAs, both in intergenic regions and in the antisense orientation to known transcripts.

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SummarySmall RNAs (sRNA) that act by base pairing with trans-encoded mRNAs modulate metabolism in response to a variety of environmental stimuli. Here, we describe an Hfq-binding sRNA (FnrS) whose expression is induced upon a shift from aerobic to anaerobic conditions and which acts to down regulate the levels of a variety of mRNAs encoding metabolic enzymes. Anaerobic induction in minimal medium depends strongly on FNR but is also affected by ArcA and CRP. Whole genome expression analysis showed that the levels of at least 32 mRNAs are down regulated upon FnrS overexpression, many of which are predicted to base pair with FnrS by TargetRNA. The sRNA is highly conserved across its entire length in numerous enterobacteria, and mutation analysis revealed that two separate regions of FnrS base pair with different sets of target mRNAs. Many of the target genes previously reported to be down regulated in an FNR-dependent manner lack recognizable FNR binding sites. We thus suggest that FnrS extends the FNR regulon and increases the efficiency of anaerobic metabolism by repressing the synthesis of enzymes that are not needed under these conditions.

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RsaE is the only known trans-acting small regulatory RNA (sRNA) besides the ubiquitous 6S RNA that is conserved between the human pathogen Staphylococcus aureus and the soil-dwelling Firmicute Bacillus subtilis. Although a number of RsaE targets are known in S. aureus, neither the environmental signals that lead to its expression nor its physiological role are known. Here we show that expression of the B. subtilis homolog of RsaE is regulated by the presence of nitric oxide (NO) in the cellular milieu. Control of expression by NO is dependent on the ResDE two-component system in B. subtilis and we determined that the same is true in S. aureus. Transcriptome and proteome analyses revealed that many genes with functions related to oxidative stress and oxidation-reduction reactions were up-regulated in a B. subtilis strain lacking this sRNA. We have thus renamed it RoxS. The prediction of RoxS-dependent mRNA targets also suggested a significant enrichment for mRNAs related to respiration and electron transfer. Among the potential direct mRNA targets, we have validated the ppnKB mRNA, encoding an NAD+/NADH kinase, both in vivo and in vitro. RoxS controls both translation initiation and the stability of this transcript, in the latter case via two independent pathways implicating RNase Y and RNase III. Furthermore, RNase Y intervenes at an additional level by processing the 5′ end of the RoxS sRNA removing about 20 nucleotides. Processing of RoxS allows it to interact more efficiently with a second target, the sucCD mRNA, encoding succinyl-CoA synthase, thus expanding the repertoire of targets recognized by this sRNA.

RNase III–related enzymes play key roles in cleaving double-stranded RNA in many biological systems. Among the best-known are RNase III itself, involved in ribosomal RNA maturation and mRNA turnover in bacteria, and Drosha and Dicer, which play critical roles in the production of micro (mi)–RNAs and small interfering (si)–RNAs in eukaryotes. Although RNase III has important cellular functions in bacteria, its gene is generally not essential, with the remarkable exception of that of Bacillus subtilis. Here we show that the essential role of RNase III in this organism is to protect it from the expression of toxin genes borne by two prophages, Skin and SPβ, through antisense RNA. Thus, while a growing number of organisms that use RNase III or its homologs as part of a viral defense mechanism, B. subtilis requires RNase III for viral accommodation to the point where the presence of the enzyme is essential for cell survival. We identify txpA and yonT as the two toxin-encoding mRNAs of Skin and SPβ that are sensitive to RNase III. We further explore the mechanism of RNase III–mediated decay of the txpA mRNA when paired to its antisense RNA RatA, both in vivo and in vitro.

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bThe genes encoding the ribonucleases RNase J1 and RNase Y have long been considered essential for Bacillus subtilis cell viability, even before there was concrete knowledge of their function as two of the most important enzymes for RNA turnover in this organism. Here we show that this characterization is incorrect and that ⌬rnjA and ⌬rny mutants are both viable. As expected, both strains grow relatively slowly, with doubling times in the hour range in rich medium. Knockout mutants have major defects in their sporulation and competence development programs. Both mutants are hypersensitive to a wide range of antibiotics and have dramatic alterations to their cell morphologies, suggestive of cell envelope defects. Indeed, RNase Y mutants are significantly smaller in diameter than wild-type strains and have a very disordered peptidoglycan layer. Strains lacking RNase J1 form long filaments in tight spirals, reminiscent of mutants of the actin-like proteins (Mre) involved in cell shape determination. Finally, we combined the rnjA and rny mutations with mutations in other components of the degradation machinery and show that many of these strains are also viable. The implications for the two known RNA degradation pathways of B. subtilis are discussed. Defining the full set of essential genes in any organism is of considerable interest to the identification of the minimal assortment of genes required to sustain life and the identification of potential targets for new antimicrobial compounds. In a previous study, a total of 271 genes were deemed essential for growth of Bacillus subtilis in rich medium at 37°C (1). The criteria for classifying about 150 of these genes as essential were based on (i) the inability to interrupt the coding sequence by Campbell recombination of a plasmid bearing homology to a short (200-to 400-bp) internal portion of the gene and (ii) the strain becoming IPTG (isopropyl-␤-D-thiogalactopyranoside) dependent for growth when a Pspac promoter fusion was made to the intact gene by Campbell insertion of a similar plasmid bearing homology to the N-terminal portion of the coding sequence. Strains containing Pspac-dependent fusions to essential genes generally show significantly reduced growth in the absence of IPTG and essentially no growth if a plasmid expressing additional copies of the LacI repressor (e.g., pMAP65) is added to the strain. Residual growth, if observed, is usually attributed to leakiness of the Pspac promoter.In a follow-up study of 11 of these 150 putative essential genes, four genes of unknown function (ydiB, yloQ, yqeI, and ywlC) were deemed nonessential because they were successfully inactivated in a second attempt (2). However, at least three attempts to recover Campbell insertions for the 7 remaining genes (yacA, ydiC, ykqC, ylaN, ymdA, yneS, and yqjK) failed, while IPTG-dependent strains were successfully made. The essential nature of these genes was thus considered to be confirmed. Three of these genes, yqjK, ykqC, and ymdA, have since been shown to encode the ribonucleases...