title: Plasmid pPCP1-derived sRNA HmsA promotes biofilm formation of Yersinia pestis.
abstract: The ability of Yersinia pestis to form a biofilm is an important characteristic in flea transmission of this pathogen. Y. pestis laterally acquired two plasmids (pPCP1and pMT1) and the ability to form biofilms when it evolved from Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are thought to play a crucial role in the processes of biofilm formation and pathogenesis.
  
  
  
  A pPCP1-derived sRNA HmsA (also known as sR084) was found to contribute to the enhanced biofilm formation phenotype of Y. pestis. The concentration of c-di-GMP was significantly reduced upon deletion of the hmsA gene in Y. pestis. The abundance of mRNA transcripts determining exopolysaccharide production, crucial for biofilm formation, was measured by primer extension, RT-PCR and lacZ transcriptional fusion assays in the wild-type and hmsA mutant strains. HmsA positively regulated biofilm synthesis-associated genes (hmsHFRS, hmsT and hmsCDE), but had no regulatory effect on the biofilm degradation-associated gene hmsP. Interestingly, the recently identified biofilm activator sRNA, HmsB, was rapidly degraded in the hmsA deletion mutant. Two genes (rovM and rovA) functioning as biofilm regulators were also found to be regulated by HmsA, whose regulatory effects were consistent with the HmsA-mediated biofilm phenotype.
  
  
  
  HmsA potentially functions as an activator of biofilm formation in Y. pestis, implying that sRNAs encoded on the laterally acquired plasmids might be involved in the chromosome-based regulatory networks implicated in Y. pestis-specific physiological processes.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China.|State Key Lab of Space Medicine Fundamentals and Application, China Astronaut Research and Training Center, Beijing, 100094, China.
authors: Zizhong
authors: Z
authors: Liu
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China.|Anhui Medical University, Hefei, Anhui, 230032, China.
authors: Xiaofang
authors: X
authors: Gao
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China.|College of Life Sciences, Anhui University, Hefei, Anhui, 230601, China.
authors: Hongduo
authors: H
authors: Wang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China.
authors: Haihong
authors: H
authors: Fang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China.
authors: Yanfeng
authors: Y
authors: Yan
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China.
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Liu
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China.|The General Hospital of PLA, Beijing, 100853, China.
authors: Rong
authors: R
authors: Chen
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China.
authors: Dongsheng
authors: D
authors: Zhou
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China. ruifuyang@gmail.com.
authors: Ruifu
authors: R
authors: Yang
authors: State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, No. 20, Dongdajie, Fengtai, Beijing, 100071, China. yanpinghan@gmail.com.
authors: Yanping
authors: Y
authors: Han
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D006152:Cyclic GMP / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D010641:Phenotype; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D015010:Yersinia pestis / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D001616:beta-Galactosidase / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; C405626:RovA protein, Yersinia; C517503:RovM protein, Yersinia pseudotuberculosis; D014157:Transcription Factors; C062025:bis(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid; D001616:beta-Galactosidase; D006152:Cyclic GMP