Targeted removal of the 16S rRNA anti-Shine-Dalgarno sequence by a Mycobacterium tuberculosis MazF toxin.

ABSTRACT: The genome of the bacterial pathogen that causes tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), encodes an inexplicably high number of type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems. Because this ancient pathogen has evolved to resist clearance by antibiotics and the host immune system, its TA systems are thought to participate in the survival of these stresses. Of the ∼70 Mtb type II TA systems, 10 MazEF family members have been previously identified, yet the precise cellular target of only one of these MazF toxins is known. Here, we demonstrate that the Rv3098A gene encodes an 11th MazF paralog in Mtb (MazF-mt11, MazF11). As with all MazF toxins, MazF-mt11 acts as a single-strand, sequence-specific endoribonuclease. We first performed primer extension on the large single-stranded MS2 enterobacter

SUBMITTER: Sherrier TW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12274833 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature