Prevalence of small base-pairing RNAs derived from diverse genomic loci

• Published in: Biochimica et biophysica acta. Gene regulatory mechanisms 2020-07, Vol.1863 (7), p.194524-194524, Article 194524
• Main Authors: Adams, Philip P., Storz, Gisela
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - metabolism; Base Pairing; Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; Genetic Loci; RNA, Bacterial - genetics; RNA, Bacterial - metabolism; RNA, Small Untranslated - genetics; RNA, Small Untranslated - metabolism; RNA-seq; small RNAs; sRNA biogenesis; UTR
• ISSN: 1874-9399; 1876-4320
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2020.194524

Small RNAs (sRNAs) that act by base-pairing have been shown to play important roles in fine-tuning the levels and translation of their target transcripts across a variety of model and pathogenic organisms. Work from many different groups in a wide range of bacterial species has provided evidence for the importance and complexity of sRNA regulatory networks, which allow bacteria to quickly respond to changes in their environment. However, despite the expansive literature, much remains to be learned about all aspects of sRNA-mediated regulation, particularly in bacteria beyond the well-characterized Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica species. Here we discuss what is known, and what remains to be learned, about the identification of regulatory base-pairing RNAs produced from diverse genomic loci including how their expression is regulated. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: RNA and gene control in bacteria edited by Dr. M. Guillier and F. Repoila. •Varied numbers of regulatory sRNAs have been reported for many different bacteria.•Most characterized sRNAs act via base-pairing with target RNAs.•sRNAs are produced from diverse genomic loci including portions of mRNAs and tRNAs.•sRNA levels are controlled by transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms.