Functional characterization of the Haemophilus influenzae 4.5S RNA

The putative 4.5S RNA of Haemophilus influenzae was identified in the genome by computer analysis, amplified by the polymerase chain reaction, and cloned. We have determined that this putative 4.5S RNA will complement an Escherichia coli strain conditionally defective in 4.5S RNA production. The predicted secondary structures of the molecules were quite similar, but Northern analysis showed that the H. influenzae RNA was slightly larger than the E. coli RNA. The H. influenzae gene encoding this RNA is the functional homolog of the ffs gene in E. coli.