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Translation inhibition from a distance: The small RNA SgrS silences a ribosomal protein S1‐dependent enhancer
Author(s) -
Azam Muhammad S.,
Vanderpool Carin K.
Publication year - 2020
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/mmi.14514
Subject(s) - biology , translation (biology) , enhancer , translational regulation , five prime untranslated region , eukaryotic translation , ribosomal binding site , transfer rna , ribosome , genetics , untranslated region , rna , messenger rna , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , gene expression
Abstract Many bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs) efficiently inhibit translation of target mRNAs by forming a duplex that sequesters the Shine‐Dalgarno (SD) sequence or start codon and prevents formation of the translation initiation complex. There are a growing number of examples of sRNA–mRNA binding interactions distant from the SD region, but how these mediate translational regulation remains unclear. Our previous work in Escherichia coli and Salmonella identified a mechanism of translational repression of manY mRNA by the sRNA SgrS through a binding interaction upstream of the manY SD. Here, we report that SgrS forms a duplex with a uridine‐rich translation‐enhancing element in the manY 5ʹ untranslated region. Notably, we show that the enhancer is ribosome‐dependent and that the small ribosomal subunit protein S1 interacts with the enhancer to promote translation of manY . In collaboration with the chaperone protein Hfq, SgrS interferes with the interaction between the translation enhancer and ribosomal protein S1 to repress translation of manY mRNA. Since bacterial translation is often modulated by enhancer‐like elements upstream of the SD, sRNA‐mediated enhancer silencing could be a common mode of gene regulation.