MRNA dynamics and alternative conformations adopted under low and high arginine concentrations control polyamine biosynthesis in Salmonella.

ABSTRACT: Putrescine belongs to the large group of polyamines, an essential class of metabolites that exists throughout all kingdoms of life. The Salmonella speF gene encodes an inducible ornithine decarboxylase that produces putrescine from ornithine. Putrescine can be also synthesized from arginine in a parallel metabolic pathway. Here, we show that speF expression is controlled at multiple levels through regulatory elements contained in a long leader sequence. At the heart of this regulation is a short open reading frame, orf34, which is required for speF production. Translation of orf34 interferes with Rho-dependent transcription termination and helps to unfold an inhibitory RNA structure sequestering speF ribosome-binding site. Two consecutive arginine codons in the conserved domain of orf34 pr

SUBMITTER: Ben-Zvi T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6386406 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature