The LhrC sRNAs control expression of T cell-stimulating antigen TcsA in Listeria monocytogenes by decreasing tcsA mRNA stability.

ABSTRACT: The bacterial pathogen Listeria monocytogenes encodes seven homologous small regulatory RNAs, named the LhrC family of sRNAs. The LhrCs are highly induced under infection-relevant conditions and are known to inhibit the expression of multiple target mRNAs encoding virulence-associated surface proteins. In all cases studied so far, the LhrCs use their CU-rich regions for base pairing to complementary AG-rich sequences of the ribosomal binding site (RBS) of specific target mRNAs. Consequently, LhrC-mRNA interaction results in inhibition of translation followed by mRNA degradation, corresponding to the canonical model for sRNA-mediated gene regulation in bacteria. Here, we demonstrate that the LhrC sRNAs employ a different regulatory mechanism when acting to down-regulate the expression of tc

SUBMITTER: Ross JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6380316 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature