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Volume 9, Issue 5

A conserved uORF in the mRNA of species regulates operon expression Open Access

Abstract

Computational methods can be used to identify putative structured noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) in bacteria, which can then be validated using various biochemical and genetic approaches. In a search for ncRNAs in , we observed a conserved region called the -II motif located upstream of the gene that is also present in other members of this genus. This gene codes for an enzyme involved in the production of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs). The gene in some bacteria is regulated by members of a ppGpp-sensing riboswitch class, but previous and current data suggest that the -II motif regulates expression by a transcription attenuation mechanism involving protein translation from an upstream open reading frame (uORF or leader peptide). All representatives of this RNA motif carry a start codon positioned in-frame with a nearby stop codon, and the peptides resulting from translation of this uORF are enriched for BCAAs, suggesting that expression of the gene in the host cells is controlled by attenuation. Furthermore, recently discovered RNA motifs also associated with genes in other bacterial species appear to carry distinct uORFs, suggesting that transcription attenuation by uORF translation is a common mechanism for regulating genes.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): attenuation , gene regulation , intergenic region and RNA motif
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • National Institutes of Health (Award GM022778, AI136794)
    • Principle Award Recipient: RonaldR. Breaker
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute
    • Principle Award Recipient: RonaldR. Breaker
© 2023 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution.
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2023-05-26
2024-05-08
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A conserved uORF in the ilvBNC mRNA of Corynebacterium species regulates ilv operon expression
M Gen 9, 001019 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.001019
/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.001019
/content/journal/mgen/10.1099/mgen.0.001019
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