A highly conserved sRNA downregulates multiple genes, including a σ⁵⁴ transcriptional activator, in the virulence mode of <i>Bordetella pertussis</i>.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial sRNAs together with the RNA chaperone Hfq post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression by affecting ribosome binding or mRNA stability. In the human pathogen Bordetella pertussis, the causative agent of whooping cough, hundreds of sRNAs have been identified, but their roles in B. pertussis biology are mostly unknown. Here we characterize a Hfq-dependent sRNA (S17), whose level is dramatically higher in the virulence (Bvg⁺) mode. We show that transcription from a σ^A-dependent promoter yields a long form of 190 nucleotides (nts) that is processed by RNase E to generate a shorter, more stable form (S17S) of 67 nts. Using RNA-seq and RT-qPCR, we identify 92 genes whose expression significantly increases in the absence of S17. Of these genes, 70

SUBMITTER: Sim M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11722255 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature