Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 22, 2026

Identification of RNA Fragments Resulting from Enzymatic Degradation using MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry
Published on: April 11, 2022
OLE RNA protects extremophilic bacteria from alcohol toxicity
Jason G Wallace1, Zhiyuan Zhou, Ronald R Breaker
1Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA.
Abstract:
OLE (Ornate, Large, Extremophilic) RNAs represent a recently discovered non-coding RNA class found in extremophilic anaerobic bacteria, including certain human pathogens. OLE RNAs exhibit several unusual characteristics that indicate a potentially novel function, including exceptionally high expression and localization to cell membranes via interaction with a protein partner called OLE-associated protein (OAP). In the current study, new genetic and phenotypic characteristics of OLE RNA from Bacillus halodurans C-125 were established. OLE RNA is transcribed at high levels from its own promoter under normal growth conditions and the transcript is exceptionally stable compared to most other RNAs. Expression is increased by ∼ 7-fold when cells are exposed to near lethal concentrations of short-chain alcohols such as ethanol or methanol. Strains wherein the genes for OLE and/or OAP are deleted are more susceptible to growth inhibition by alcohol and also become more sensitive to cold. Normal growth characteristics can be restored by expressing the genes for OLE and OAP from plasmids or from elsewhere on the chromosome. Our findings confirm a functional link between OLE and OAP and reveal the importance of a large non-coding RNA in the response to alcohol-induced stress.
Related Concept Videos
Diversity of Archaea III
Types of RNA
Three main types of RNA are involved in protein synthesis: messenger RNA (mRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA), and ribosomal RNA (rRNA). These RNAs perform diverse functions and can be broadly classified as protein-coding or non-coding RNA. Non-coding RNAs play important roles in the regulation of gene expression in response to developmental and environmental changes. Non-coding RNAs in prokaryotes can be manipulated to develop more effective antibacterial drugs for human or animal use.
RNA...
Diversity of Archaea IV
RNA Stability
RNA Stability
Bacterial RNA Polymerase
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...

