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The Bacillus subtilis nucleotidyltransferase is a tRNA CCA-adding enzyme
L C Raynal1, H M Krisch, A J Carpousis
1Laboratoire de Microbiologie et Génétique Moléculaire, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Toulouse, France.
Journal of Bacteriology
|November 26, 1998
Summary
Bacterial polyadenylation is crucial for RNA degradation. Researchers found that Bacillus subtilis
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Bacterial 3' poly(A) tails are increasingly recognized for their role in RNA degradation.
- Poly(A) polymerase I (PAP I) in Escherichia coli belongs to the nucleotidyltransferase (Ntr) family, which also includes tRNA CCA-adding enzymes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the function of the papS gene in Bacillus subtilis.
- To clarify the enzymes responsible for polyadenylation in gram-positive bacteria.
Main Methods:
- Bioinformatic analysis of eubacterial genomic sequences to identify Ntr family members.
- Overexpression and biochemical characterization of the Bacillus subtilis papS gene product.
Main Results:
- Thirty Ntr family members were identified across eubacterial genomes.
- The Bacillus subtilis papS gene product was confirmed to be a tRNA nucleotidyltransferase, not a poly(A) polymerase.
- Gram-negative bacteria possess two Ntr genes, while Bacillus subtilis appears to have only one (cca).
Conclusions:
- The papS gene in Bacillus subtilis should be renamed cca.
- Gram-positive bacteria utilize a distinct enzyme for RNA 3' polyadenylation compared to gram-negative bacteria.