Early termination of the Shiga toxin transcript generates a regulatory small RNA.

ABSTRACT: Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli is a significant human pathogen that causes disease ranging from hemorrhagic colitis to hemolytic uremic syndrome. The latter can lead to potentially fatal renal failure and is caused by the release of Shiga toxins that are encoded within lambdoid bacteriophages. The toxins are encoded within the late transcript of the phage and are regulated by antitermination of the P_R' late promoter during lytic induction of the phage. During lysogeny, the late transcript is prematurely terminated at t_R' immediately downstream of P_R', generating a short RNA that is a byproduct of antitermination regulation. We demonstrate that this short transcript binds the small RNA chaperone Hfq, and is processed into a stable 74-nt regulatory

SUBMITTER: Sy BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7547250 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature