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RodZ regulates the post‐transcriptional processing of the Shigella sonnei type III secretion system
Author(s) -
Mitobe Jiro,
Yanagihara Itaru,
Ohnishi Kiyouhisa,
Yamamoto Shouji,
Ohnishi Makoto,
Ishihama Akira,
Watanabe Haruo
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
embo reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.584
H-Index - 184
eISSN - 1469-3178
pISSN - 1469-221X
DOI - 10.1038/embor.2011.132
Subject(s) - mutant , biology , secretion , messenger rna , microbiology and biotechnology , virulence , type three secretion system , transcriptional regulation , regulation of gene expression , post transcriptional regulation , gene expression , gene , genetics , biochemistry
The expression of the type III secretion system—a main determinant of virulence in Shigella —is controlled by regulator cascades VirF‐InvE (VirB) and CpxAR two‐component system. A screen for mutants that restore virulence in the cpxA background led to the isolation of a mutant of rodZ , a cytoskeletal protein that maintains the rod‐shaped morphology of bacilli. InvE is normally repressed at 30 °C because of decreased messenger RNA (mRNA) stability, but rodZ mutants markedly increase invE ‐mRNA stability. Importantly, the inhibition of InvE production by RodZ can be genetically separated from its role in cell‐shape maintenance, indicating that these functions are distinguishable. Thus, we propose that RodZ is a new membrane‐bound RNA‐binding protein that provides a scaffold for post‐transcriptional regulation.