title: A new type V toxin-antitoxin system where mRNA for toxin GhoT is cleaved by antitoxin GhoS.
abstract: Among bacterial toxin-antitoxin systems, to date no antitoxin has been identified that functions by cleaving toxin mRNA. Here we show that YjdO (renamed GhoT) is a membrane lytic peptide that causes ghost cell formation (lysed cells with damaged membranes) and increases persistence (persister cells are tolerant to antibiotics without undergoing genetic change). GhoT is part of a new toxin-antitoxin system with YjdK (renamed GhoS) because in vitro RNA degradation studies, quantitative real-time reverse-transcription PCR and whole-transcriptome studies revealed that GhoS masks GhoT toxicity by cleaving specifically yjdO (ghoT) mRNA. Alanine substitutions showed that Arg28 is important for GhoS activity, and RNA sequencing indicated that the GhoS cleavage site is rich in U and A. The NMR structure of GhoS indicates it is related to the CRISPR-associated-2 RNase, and GhoS is a monomer. Hence, GhoT-GhoS is to our knowledge the first type V toxin-antitoxin system where a protein antitoxin inhibits the toxin by cleaving specifically its mRNA.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Bio-Resources Sustainable Utilization, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoxue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Dana M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Lord
authors.forename: Hsin-Yao
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Devon O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Osbourne
authors.forename: Seok Hoon
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.forename: Viviana
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Torres
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Quiroga
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Peti
authors.forename: Michael J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Benedik
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Page
authors.forename: Thomas K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Wood
mesh_terms: D000992:Antitoxins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018441:Biofilms; D006868:Hydrolysis; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D011487:Protein Conformation; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D000992:Antitoxins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D012333:RNA, Messenger