title: Heat Shock RNA 1, Known as a Eukaryotic Temperature-Sensing Noncoding RNA, Is of Bacterial Origin.
abstract: Heat shock RNA 1 (HSR1) is described as a "eukaryotic heat-sensing noncoding RNA" that regulates heat shock response in human and other eukaryotic cells. Highly conserved HSR1 sequences have been identified from humans, hamsters, Drosophila, Caenorhabditis elegans, and Arabidopsis. In a previous study, however, it was suggested that HSR1 had originated from a bacterial genome. HSR1 showed no detectible nucleotide sequence similarity to any eukaryotic sequences but harbored a protein coding region that showed amino-acid sequence similarity to bacterial voltage-gated chloride channel proteins. The bacterial origin of HSR1 was not convincible because the nucleotide sequence similarity was marginal. In this study, we have found that a genomic contig sequence of Comamonas testosteroni strain JL14 contained a sequence virtually identical to that of HSR1, decisively confirming the bacterial origin of HSR1. Thus, HSR1 is an exogenous RNA, which can ectopically trigger heat shock response in eukaryotes. Therefore, it is no longer appropriate to cite HSR1 as a "eukaryotic functional noncoding RNA."
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Research Center for Biomolecules and Biosystems, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dongjin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Research Center for Biomolecules and Biosystems, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Ji
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Oh
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Research Center for Biomolecules and Biosystems, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Chul Jun
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Goh
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Research Center for Biomolecules and Biosystems, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kangseok
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Science, Research Center for Biomolecules and Biosystems, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 156-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yoonsoo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hahn
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D020604:Comamonas testosteroni / Q000235:genetics*; D019295:Computational Biology; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D022661:RNA, Untranslated / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013312:Stress, Physiological
chemical_list: D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D022661:RNA, Untranslated
keywords: Comamonas testosteroni; Heat Shock RNA-1; bacterial sequence; heat shock response