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Small RNAs promote mRNA stability to activate the synthesis of virulence factors
Author(s) -
Podkaminski Dimitri,
Vogel Jörg
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2958.2010.07428.x
Subject(s) - biology , virulence , messenger rna , microbiology and biotechnology , computational biology , genetics , gene
Summary Although most bacterial small RNAs act to repress target mRNAs, some also activate messengers. The predominant mode of activation has been seen in ‘anti‐antisense’ regulation whereby a small RNA prevents the formation of an inhibitory 5′ mRNA structure that otherwise impairs translational initiation and protein synthesis. The translational activation might also stabilize the target yet this was considered a secondary effect in the examples known thus far. Two recent papers in Molecular Microbiology investigate post‐transcriptional activation of collagenase mRNA by Clostridium VR‐RNA, and streptokinase mRNA by Streptococcus FasX RNA, to suggest that small RNAs exert positive regulation of virulence genes primarily at the level of mRNA stabilization.