Complex autoregulation of the post-transcriptional regulator RsmA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

RsmA is a post-transcriptional RNA-binding protein that acts as a pleiotropic global regulator of mRNAs in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Upon binding to its target, RsmA impedes the translation of the mRNA by the ribosome. The RsmA regulon affects over 500 genes, many of which have been identified as important in the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa. Whilst the regulatory function of RsmA is relatively well characterized, the genetic regulation of rsmA itself at the transcriptional and translational levels remains poorly understood. Here, we show that RsmA is capable of self-regulation through an unorthodox mechanism. This regulation occurs via direct interaction of the protein with an RsmA-binding site located in the early portion of its coding sequence. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of such an unusual regulation in pseudomonads.