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oai:repisalud.isciii.es:20.500.12105/72562025-06-09T14:00:03Zcom_20.500.12105_2052com_20.500.12105_2051col_20.500.12105_19609

00925njm 22002777a 4500 dc Moreira, Ricardo N author Domingues, Susana author Viegas, Sandra C author Amblar, Monica author Arraiano, Cecília Maria author 2012-11-20 BACKGROUND: Ribonuclease R (RNase R) is an exoribonuclease that recognizes and degrades a wide range of RNA molecules. It is a stress-induced protein shown to be important for the establishment of virulence in several pathogenic bacteria. RNase R has also been implicated in the trans-translation process. Transfer-messenger RNA (tmRNA/SsrA RNA) and SmpB are the main effectors of trans-translation, an RNA and protein quality control system that resolves challenges associated with stalled ribosomes on non-stop mRNAs. Trans-translation has also been associated with deficiencies in stress-response mechanisms and pathogenicity. RESULTS: In this work we study the expression of RNase R in the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae and analyse the interplay of this enzyme with the main components of the trans-translation machinery (SmpB and tmRNA/SsrA). We show that RNase R is induced after a 37°C to 15°C temperature downshift and that its levels are dependent on SmpB. On the other hand, our results revealed a strong accumulation of the smpB transcript in the absence of RNase R at 15°C. Transcriptional analysis of the S. pneumoniae rnr gene demonstrated that it is co-transcribed with the flanking genes, secG and smpB. Transcription of these genes is driven from a promoter upstream of secG and the transcript is processed to yield mature independent mRNAs. This genetic organization seems to be a common feature of Gram positive bacteria, and the biological significance of this gene cluster is further discussed. CONCLUSIONS: This study unravels an additional contribution of RNase R to the trans-translation system by demonstrating that smpB is regulated by this exoribonuclease. RNase R in turn, is shown to be under the control of SmpB. These proteins are therefore mutually dependent and cross-regulated. The data presented here shed light on the interactions between RNase R, trans-translation and cold-shock response in an important human pathogen. BMC Microbiol. 2012 Nov 20;12:268. 10.1186/1471-2180-12-268 1471-2180 BMC microbiology 23167513 http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12105/7256 Synergies between RNA degradation and trans-translation in Streptococcus pneumoniae: cross regulation and co-transcription of RNase R and SmpB