“Life is short, and art is long”: RNA degradation in cyanobacteria and model bacteria

Abstract

RNA turnover plays critical roles in the regulation of gene expression and allows cells to respond rapidly to environmental changes. In bacteria, the mechanisms of RNA turnover have been extensively studied in the models Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis, but not much is known in other bacteria. Cyanobacteria are a diverse group of photosynthetic organisms that have great potential for the sustainable production of valuable products using CO2 and solar energy. A better understanding of the regulation of RNA decay is important for both basic and applied studies of cyanobacteria. Genomic analysis shows that cyanobacteria have more than 10 ribonucleases and related proteins in common with E. coli and B. subtilis, and only a limited number of them have been experimentally investigated. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about these RNA‐turnover‐related proteins in cyanobacteria. Although many of them are biochemically similar to their counterparts in E. coli and B. subtilis, they appear to have distinct cellular functions, suggesting a different mechanism of RNA turnover regulation in cyanobacteria. The identification of new players involved in the regulation of RNA turnover and the elucidation of their biological functions are among the future challenges in this field.

The role of the 5’ sensing function of ribonuclease E in cyanobacteria

“…Cyanobacteria are the only bacteria capable of performing oxygenic photosynthesis and are therefore of immense ecological relevance as well as of interest for the phototrophic production of valuable compounds from CO 2 . Cyanobacterial RNA decay is far from being fully understood and potentially important players remain to be characterised experimentally (25). Several studies demonstrated the regulation of photosynthetic transcript accumulation by cyanobacterial RNase E (26–28).…”

“…We found that increased RNase activities leads to a higher copy number of the major Synechocystis plasmids pSYSA and pSYSM. The results provide a first step towards understanding the relative importance of different target mechanisms of RNase E outside Escherichia coli.potentially important players remain to be characterised experimentally (25). Several studies demonstrated the regulation of photosynthetic transcript accumulation by cyanobacterial RNase E (26-28).…”

“…potentially important players remain to be characterised experimentally (25). Several studies demonstrated the regulation of photosynthetic transcript accumulation by cyanobacterial RNase E (26-28).…”

Regulation of pSYSA defense plasmid copy number in Synechocystis through RNase E and a highly transcribed asRNA

“…These strains are characterized by an increased level of RNase E relative to the WT, either in its native or 5′ monophosphate sensing deficient form. RNase E is an essential enzyme in cyanobacteria with multiple functions in RNA maturation, degradation and in the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression ( Zhang et al, 2022 ).…”

A desiccated dual-species subaerial biofilm reprograms its metabolism and affects water dynamics in limestone

“…Thus, we speculated that RNA degradation led to the accumulation of adenosine and guanosine, but this degradation could have occurred in Synechocystis as well (Zhang et al, 2022). Interestingly, mRNA degradation regulates the activity of the central carbon metabolism and metabolic responses to stress (Roux et al, 2022).…”