Results of a study from University of Würzburg demonstrate the function of the protein ProQ in a bacterial cell. Described in the journal PNAS, the study identifies that ProQ binds to 98 regulatory RNAs of the bacterial pathogen Salmonella enterica. Salmonella is a genus of bacteria that can causee illnesses including typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever, and food poisoning. Many studied organisms have a genome that are pervasively transcribed, and noncoding RNA (ncRNA) accounts for a significant proportion of the RNA output. One type of ncRNA -- small regulatory RNA -- serves as a key modulator of gene expression in bacteria. Small regulatory RNA molecules control gene activity and help bacteria infect the host. The advent of next-generation RNA sequencing has facilitated the research of non-coding RNA (ncRNA). However, this method is not good enough to predict function because ncRNAs dramatically vary in length and structure. A better way to explore RNA function is to investigate the association of RNAs with RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Hfq and CsrA are two such proteins that bind closely to regulatory RNA molecules and modulate their activities. Specifically, the protein Hfq stabilizes small regulatory RNA molecules and helps them regulate their mRNA targets. Notably, some bacterial pathogens, such as E. coli and Salmonella, contain many additional small regulatory RNA molecules that do not interact with Hfq and CsrA. Scientists believe that there are other RBPs in these bacteria. Vogel's team have been studying small regulatory RNA molecules for a long time. In the present study, they analyzed cellular RNAs in Salmonella enterica by using the gradient profiling by sequencing (Grad-seq) approach. Results demonstrated that a class of structured small RNAs form stable complexes with the protein ProQ. But how ProQ selectively binds to these highly structured RNAs remains to be researched profoundly. The study may offer novel targets to fight against bacterial pathogens. CusAb offers Hfq, CsrA, ProQ, RBP, Recombinant MT-ATP8, and related products. For more detail, please visit:
