Large-scale identification of small noncoding RNA with strand-specific deep sequencing and characterization of a novel virulence-related sRNA in Brucella melitensis.
Brucella is the causative agent of brucellosis, a worldwide epidemic zoonosis. Small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) are important modulators of gene expression and involved in pathogenesis and stress adaptation of Brucella. In this study, using a strand-specific RNA deep-sequencing approach, we identified a global set of sRNAs expressed by B. melitensis 16M. In total, 1321 sRNAs were identified, ranging from 100 to 600 nucleotides. These sRNAs differ in their expression levels and strand and chromosomal distributions. The role of BSR0441, one of these sRNAs, in the virulence of B. melitensis 16M was further characterized. BSR0441 was highly induced during the infection of macrophages and mice. The deletion mutant of BSR0441 showed significantly reduced spleen colonization in the middle and late phases of infection. The expression of the BSR0441 target mRNA genes was also altered in the BSR0441 mutant strain during macrophage and mice infection, which is consistent with its reduced intracellular survival capacity. In summary, Brucella encodes a large number of sRNAs, which may be involved in the stress adaptation and virulence of Brucella. Further investigation of these regulators will extend our understanding of the Brucella pathogenesis mechanism and the interactions between Brucella and its hosts.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Sichuan Province, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China.|Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Zhijun
Z
Zhong
College of Veterinary Medicine, Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Sichuan Province, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China.|Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Xiaoyang
X
Xu
Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Xinran
X
Li
Wangjing Hospital, Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100102, P. R. China.
Shiwei
S
Liu
College of Veterinary Medicine, Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Sichuan Province, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China.|Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Shuangshuang
S
Lei
Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Mingjuan
M
Yang
Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Jiuxuan
J
Yu
Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Jiuyun
J
Yuan
Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Yuehua
Y
Ke
Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Xinying
X
Du
Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.
Zhoujia
Z
Wang
College of Veterinary Medicine, Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Sichuan Province, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China.
Zhihua
Z
Ren
College of Veterinary Medicine, Key Laboratory of Animal Disease and Human Health of Sichuan Province, Sichuan Agricultural University, Sichuan Province, Chengdu 611130, P. R. China.
Guangneng
G
Peng
Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.|Department of Laboratory Medicine, The General Hospital of Chinese People's Armed Police Forces, Beijing 100039, P. R. China.
Yufei
Y
Wang
Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Academy of Military Medical Sciences, Beijing 100071, P. R. China.|Key Laboratory of Zoonotic of Liaoning Province, College of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, Shenyang Agricultural University, Liaoning Province, Shenyang 110866, P. R. China.
Zeliang
Z
Chen
D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D059014:High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing; D008264:Macrophages / Q000382:microbiology; D051379:Mice; D050296:Microbial Viability; D058727:RNA, Small Untranslated / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics*; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D013154:Spleen / Q000382:microbiology; D014774:Virulence
D058727:RNA, Small Untranslated