A leaderless mRNA including tRNA-like sequence encodes a small peptide that regulates the expression of GcvB small RNA in Escherichia coli

Akira Muto; Simon Goto; Daisuke Kurita; Chisato Ushida; Akiko Soma; Hyota Himeno

doi:10.1093/jb/mvac007

A leaderless mRNA including tRNA-like sequence encodes a small peptide that regulates the expression of GcvB small RNA in Escherichia coli

J Biochem. 2022 Mar 31;171(4):459-465. doi: 10.1093/jb/mvac007.

Authors

Akira Muto¹, Simon Goto¹, Daisuke Kurita¹, Chisato Ushida¹, Akiko Soma², Hyota Himeno¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Agriculture and Bioscience, Hirosaki University, Bunkyo-cho 3, Hirosaki, Aomori 036-8561, Japan.
² Graduate School of Horticulture, Chiba University, 648 Matsudo, Chiba 271-8510, Japan.

PMID: 35081614
DOI: 10.1093/jb/mvac007

Abstract

A tRNA-like sequence conserved in the genomes of all Escherichia coli strains was found. The sequence resembles arginine-tRNA, which is present in E. coli pathogenic islands and phages. Expression experiments revealed that this sequence is a part of a leaderless mRNA encoding a short peptide (60 amino acids: XtpA). A deletion mutant of this gene is more sensitive than wild-type cell to several aminoglycoside antibiotics at low concentrations. Further analyses indicated that XtpA positively regulates the expression of GcvB small RNA, which is involved in the intrinsic resistance to aminoblycosides in E. coli.

Keywords: E. coli; GcvB small RNA; aminoglycoside antibiotics; leaderless mRNA; tRNA-like sequence.

MeSH terms

Escherichia coli* / metabolism
Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
Peptides / metabolism
RNA, Bacterial*
RNA, Messenger / genetics
RNA, Messenger / metabolism
RNA, Transfer / genetics
RNA, Transfer / metabolism

Substances

Peptides
RNA, Bacterial
RNA, Messenger
RNA, Transfer