Abstract
As the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, small RNAs (sRNAs) play important roles in every domain of life in organisms. It has been discovered gradually that bacteria possess multiple means of gene regulation using RNAs. They have been continuously used as model organisms for photosynthesis, metabolism, biotechnology, evolution, and nitrogen fixation for many decades. Cyanobacteria, one of the most ancient life forms, constitute all kinds of photoautotrophic bacteria and exist in almost any environment on this planet. It is believed that a complex RNA-based regulatory mechanism functions in cyanobacteria to help them adapt to changes and stresses in diverse environments. Although lagging far behind other model microorganisms, such as yeast and Escherichia coli, more and more non-coding regulatory sRNAs have been recognized in cyanobacteria during the past decades. In this article, by focusing on cyanobacterial sRNAs, the approaches for detection and targeting of sRNAs will be summarized, four major mechanisms and regulatory functions will be generalized, eight types of cis-encoded sRNA and four types of trans-encoded sRNAs will be reviewed in detail, and their possible physiological functions will be further discussed.
Highlights
RNAs from cells that do not display messenger RNAs, ribosomal RNAs, or transfer RNAs functions include a wide class of molecules, usually denominated as small RNAs or non-coding RNAs (Storz et al, 2004; Waters and Storz, 2009)
The 174 nt MicF RNA was identified as the first chromosomally encoded small RNA (sRNA) in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and plays a role in inhibiting translation of the messenger RNAs (mRNAs) encoding OmpF, the major outer membrane porin (Mizuno et al, 1984)
Biocomputational prediction, tiling microarrays, and pyrosequencing revealed that many candidate sRNAs have been existing in some cyanobacterial model organisms for the past several decades
Summary
Reviewed by: Yingchun Wang, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (CAS), China Harvey J. As the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression, small RNAs (sRNAs) play important roles in every domain of life in organisms. It is believed that a complex RNA-based regulatory mechanism functions in cyanobacteria to help them adapt to changes and stresses in diverse environments. Lagging far behind other model microorganisms, such as yeast and Escherichia coli, more and more non-coding regulatory sRNAs have been recognized in cyanobacteria during the past decades. By focusing on cyanobacterial sRNAs, the approaches for detection and targeting of sRNAs will be summarized, four major mechanisms and regulatory functions will be generalized, eight types of cis-encoded sRNA and four types of trans-encoded sRNAs will be reviewed in detail, and their possible physiological functions will be further discussed
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