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Updated: May 22, 2026

An Assay for Quantifying Protein-RNA Binding in Bacteria
Published on: June 12, 2019
MSMEG_2731, an uncharacterized nucleic acid binding protein from Mycobacterium smegmatis, physically interacts with
Mingzhang Yang1, Yuanyuan Chen, Ying Zhou
1Key Laboratory of Non-coding RNA, Institute of Biophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
Abstract:
While the M. smegmatis genome has been sequenced, only a small portion of the genes have been characterized experimentally. Here, we purify and characterize MSMEG_2731, a conserved hypothetical alanine and arginine rich M. smegmatis protein. Using ultracentrifugation, we show that MSMEG_2731 is a monomer in vitro. MSMEG_2731 exists at a steady level throughout the M. smegmatis life-cycle. Combining results from pull-down techniques and LS-MS/MS, we show that MSMEG_2731 interacts with ribosomal protein S1. The existence of this interaction was confirmed by co-immunoprecipitation. We also show that MSMEG_2731 can bind ssDNA, dsDNA and RNA in vitro. Based on the interactions of MSMEG_2731 with RPS1 and RNA, we propose that MSMEG_2731 is involved in the transcription-translation process in vivo.
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