Small RNAs of Pseudomonas spp.

Abstract

Non-coding small RNAs (sRNAs) have important regulatory functions in bacteria. In Pseudomonas spp., about 40 sRNAs have been reported until the end of 2008, a number that almost certainly is an underestimate. We provide a summary of the coding regions for these sRNAs is Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The functions of some Pseudomonas sRNAs can be deduced from those of homologous well-characterized sRNAs of Escherichia coli, e.g. 6S RNA (a stationary phase regulator of RNA polymerase) and tmRNA (a component of a machinery serving to eliminate truncated polypeptides). Two sRNAs of P. aeruginosa, PrrF1 and PrrF2, whose expression is repressed by the Fur repressor in the presence of iron, inhibit translation initiation of mRNAs specifying superoxide dismutase (sodB), succinate dehydrogenase (sdhABCD) and anthranilate degradation (antABC), via a base-paring mechanism. As a consequence, these mRNAs are poorly expressed under conditions of iron limitation. Two further sRNAs of P. aeruginosa, RsmY and RsmZ, whose expression is positively controlled by the GacS/GacA two-component system in response to unknown signals, act as scavengers of the RNA-binding protein RsmA. In this way, translational repression exerted by RsmA on target mRNAs can be relieved. The Gac/Rsm signal transduction pathway globally regulates motility and the formation of extracellular products in pseudomonas spp.