Translation on demand by a simple RNA-based thermosensor

  • Structured RNA regions are important gene control elements in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Here, we show that the mRNA of a cyanobacterial heat shock gene contains a built-in thermosensor critical for photosynthetic activity under stress conditions. The exceptionally short 5´-untranslated region is comprised of a single hairpin with an internal asymmetric loop. It inhibits translation of the Synechocystis hsp17 transcript at normal growth conditions, permits translation initiation under stress conditions and shuts down Hsp17 production in the recovery phase. Point mutations that stabilized or destabilized the RNA structure deregulated reporter gene expression in vivo and ribosome binding in vitro. Introduction of such point mutations into the Synechocystis genome produced severe phenotypic defects. Reversible formation of the open and closed structure was beneficial for viability, integrity of the photosystem and oxygen evolution. Continuous production of Hsp17 was detrimental when the stress declined indicating that shutting-off heat shock protein production is an important, previously unrecognized function of RNA thermometers. We discovered a simple biosensor that strictly adjusts the cellular level of a molecular chaperone to the physiological need.

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Author:Jens Frank Kortmann, Simon Daniel Sczodrok, Jörg RinnenthalGND, Harald SchwalbeORCiDGND, Franz Narberhaus
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30-106554
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkq1252
ISSN:1362-4962
ISSN:0305-1048
Pubmed Id:https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21131278
Parent Title (English):Nucleic acids research
Publisher:Oxford Univ. Press
Place of publication:Oxford
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2011/08/13
Year of first Publication:2010
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2011/08/13
Volume:39
Issue:7
Page Number:14
First Page:2855
Last Page:2868
Note:
© The Author(s) 2010. Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Source:Nucleic acids resarch, 39(7), S. 2855-2868 ; http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/content/39/7/2855
HeBIS-PPN:272957151
Institutes:Biochemie, Chemie und Pharmazie / Biochemie und Chemie
Exzellenzcluster / Exzellenzcluster Makromolekulare Komplexe
Wissenschaftliche Zentren und koordinierte Programme / Sonderforschungsbereiche / Forschungskollegs
Wissenschaftliche Zentren und koordinierte Programme / Zentrum für Biomolekulare Magnetische Resonanz (BMRZ)
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 57 Biowissenschaften; Biologie / 570 Biowissenschaften; Biologie
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Sammlung Biologie / Sondersammelgebiets-Volltexte
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - Namensnennung-Nicht kommerziell 3.0