Regulatory non-coding sRNAs in bacterial metabolic pathway engineering

• Published in: Metabolic engineering 2019-03, Vol.52, p.190-214
• Main Authors: Leistra, Abigail N., Curtis, Nicholas C., Contreras, Lydia M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antisense RNA; High-throughput RNA-seq; Metabolic pathway engineering; Non-coding RNA; Small regulatory RNA; sRNA regulatory network
• ISSN: 1096-7176; 1096-7184
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ymben.2018.11.013

Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are versatile and powerful controllers of gene expression that have been increasingly linked to cellular metabolism and phenotype. In bacteria, identified and characterized ncRNAs range from trans-acting, multi-target small non-coding RNAs to dynamic, cis-encoded regulatory untranslated regions and riboswitches. These native regulators have inspired the design and construction of many synthetic RNA devices. In this work, we review the design, characterization, and impact of ncRNAs in engineering both native and exogenous metabolic pathways in bacteria. We also consider the opportunities afforded by recent high-throughput approaches for characterizing sRNA regulators and their corresponding networks to showcase their potential applications and impact in engineering bacterial metabolism. •Antisense RNAs are used to engineer metabolic pathways in bacteria.•Pathways can be optimized for different products by altering antisense RNA complementarity or expression to tune target knockdown.•Native bacterial regulatory sRNAs impact phenotype through mRNA target networks.•Understanding native sRNA networks can drive engineering applications.•High-throughput methods provide new approaches for sRNA network characterization.