ProQ-associated small RNAs control motility in Vibrio cholerae

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Molecular Biology
• Bacterial Pathogenesis

Background:

• Post-transcriptional gene regulation is crucial for bacterial survival and virulence.
• ProQ proteins act as RNA chaperones, influencing RNA stability and duplex formation.
• The role of ProQ in the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae remains uncharacterized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the function of ProQ in Vibrio cholerae.
• To globally analyze ProQ-dependent RNA-RNA interactions.
• To elucidate the role of the FlaX small RNA in V. cholerae gene regulation.

Main Methods:

• RNA interaction by ligation and sequencing (RIL-Seq) was employed for global RNA duplex analysis.
• ProQ-RNA interactions were identified across the V. cholerae transcriptome.
• Phenotypic assays were conducted on V. cholerae strains lacking the flaX gene.

Main Results:

• ProQ was found to interact with hundreds of V. cholerae transcripts, including the FlaX sRNA.
• RIL-Seq revealed a widespread network of ProQ-assisted RNA interactions.
• FlaX was shown to base-pair with flaB mRNA, inhibiting translation initiation and affecting motility.

Conclusions:

• ProQ plays a significant role in V. cholerae post-transcriptional gene regulation.
• The FlaX sRNA, facilitated by ProQ, is a key regulator of flagellin mRNA.
• Disruption of ProQ-FlaX interactions impairs V. cholerae motility and flagella gene expression.