RNase E action at a distance: degradation of target mRNAs mediated by an Hfq-binding small RNA in bacteria
- Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Suzuka University of Medical Sciences, Suzuka, Mie 513-0816, Japan
Abstract
A major class of bacterial small RNAs (sRNAs), along with RNA-binding protein Hfq and endoribonuclease RNase E, acts on target mRNAs through base-pairing, leading to translational repression and rapid degradation of the mRNAs. In this issue of Genes & Development, Prévost and colleagues (pp. 385–396) demonstrate by using the well-characterized sRNA RyhB that RNase E cleavage at sites distal from the pairing region triggers degradation of target mRNAs. The study has provided an important insight into the initial events of sRNA-induced degradation of target mRNAs.
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↵1 Corresponding author.
E-MAIL aiba{at}suzuka-u.ac.jp; FAX 81-59-368-1271.
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Article is online at http://www.genesdev.org/cgi/doi/10.1101/gad.2030311.
- Copyright © 2011 by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
