Journal article

Publication year: 2017

Pages: 1020-1033

Journal: Molecular Microbiology

Volume number: 103

Issue number: 6

ISSN: 0950-382X

Open access status: Bronze

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/mmi.13607

Publisher: Wiley

Abstract: 
Bacterial survival strategies involve phenotypic diversity which is generated by regulatory factors and noisy expression of effector proteins. The question of how bacteria exploit regulatory RNAs to make decisions between phenotypes is central to a general understanding of these universal regulators. We investigated the TisB/IstR-1 toxin-antitoxin system of Escherichia coli to appreciate the role of the RNA antitoxin IstR-1 in TisB-dependent depolarization of the inner membrane and persister formation. Persisters are phenotypic variants that have become transiently drug-tolerant by arresting growth. The RNA antitoxin IstR-1 sets a threshold for TisB-dependent depolarization under DNA-damaging conditions, resulting in two sub-populations: polarized and depolarized cells. Furthermore, our data indicate that an inhibitory 5 UTR structure in the tisB mRNA serves as a regulatory RNA element that delays TisB translation to avoid inappropriate depolarization when DNA damage is low. Investigation of the persister sub-population further revealed that both regulatory RNA elements affect persister levels as well as persistence time. This work provides an intriguing example of how bacteria exploit regulatory RNAs to control phenotypic heterogeneity.

Harvard Citation style: Berghoff, B., Hoekzema, M., Aulbach, L. and Wagner, E. (2017) Two regulatory RNA elements affect TisB-dependent depolarization and persister formation, Molecular Microbiology, 103(6), pp. 1020-1033. https://doi.org/10.1111/mmi.13607

APA Citation style: Berghoff, B., Hoekzema, M., Aulbach, L., & Wagner, E. (2017). Two regulatory RNA elements affect TisB-dependent depolarization and persister formation. Molecular Microbiology. 103(6), 1020-1033. https://doi.org/10.1111/mmi.13607