title: The Streptococcus mutans irvA gene encodes a trans-acting riboregulatory mRNA.
abstract: In both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, insight into gene function is typically obtained by in silico homology searches and/or phenotypic analyses of strains bearing mutations within open reading frames. However, the studies herein illustrate how mRNA function is not limited to the expression of a cognate protein. We demonstrate that a stress-induced protein-encoding mRNA (irvA) from the dental caries pathogen Streptococcus mutans directly modulates target mRNA (gbpC) stability through seed pairing interactions. The 5' untranslated region of irvA mRNA is a trans riboregulator of gbpC and a critical activator of the DDAG stress response, whereas IrvA functions independently in the regulation of natural competence. The irvA riboregulatory domain controls GbpC production by forming irvA-gbpC hybrid mRNA duplexes that prevent gbpC degradation by an RNase J2-mediated pathway. These studies implicate a potentially ubiquitous role for typical protein-encoding mRNAs as riboregulators, which could alter current concepts in gene regulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 71304, USA.
authors.forename: Nan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 71304, USA.
authors.forename: Guoqing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Niu
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 71304, USA.
authors.forename: Zhoujie
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 71304, USA.
authors.forename: Zhiyun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 71304, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Itzek
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 71304, USA; Division of Oral Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kreth
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 71304, USA.
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gillaspy
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zeng
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Burne
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 71304, USA; Division of Oral Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA.
authors.forename: Fengxia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 71304, USA; Division of Oral Biology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73104, USA. Electronic address: justin-merritt@ouhsc.edu.
authors.forename: Justin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Merritt
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001483:Base Sequence; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D009841:Oligonucleotides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011485:Protein Binding; D020871:RNA Stability; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D013295:Streptococcus mutans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D009841:Oligonucleotides; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012097:Repressor Proteins