A new target of antibacterial drugs: Bacterial mRNA degradation pathways

Abstract

In bacteria, mRNA degradation plays an essential role, not only in recycling nucleotides but also in controlling gene expression in response to rapid changing growth conditions. In addition, many ribonucleases in this process can control pathogenesis by regulation of virulent factors' expression and secretion, bacterial motility and invasion, or host cell apoptosis induction. Because a great difference in mRNA degradation machinery and ribonucleases exists between bacteria and eukaryotes, it makes mRNA degradation pathways possible to serve as a potential target for exploiting antimicrobial drugs, or new platform to reduce their virulence for vaccine preparation, for combating rapid emergence of bacteria drug-resistance. In this review, the general bacterial mRNA degradation pathways and the role of RNase R, PNPase, RNase Y, RNase III, and RNase E in pathogenesis were discussed. Furthermore, the perspective of application of mRNA decay machinery for exploiting novel antibacterial targets was also speculated.