2006 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Functional analysis of noncoding RNAs in Bacillus subtilis.
| Project/Area Number |
16380055
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Applied microbiology
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| Research Institution | University of Tsukuba |
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Principal Investigator |
NAKAMURA Kouji University of Tsukuba, Graduate school of Life and Environmental Sciences, Associate Professor (40212097)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2004 – 2006
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| Keywords | RNomics / noncoding RNA / riboswitch / Bacillus subtilis / Clostridium perfringens |
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| Research Abstract |
Genomes from all organisms known to date express both messenger RNAs (mRNAs) that are translated into proteins and non-messenger RNAs, which function at the RNA level and do not serve as templates for translation. Therefore, the latter is referred to as non-coding RNAs. Most of these can be defined as regulatory molecules that apparently fine-tune cellular responses to stress by integrating environmental signals into global regulation. We isolated and characterized a novel small RNA from Bacillus subtilis and called it BS203 RNA based on the length of its mature-form (203 nt). We then located the corresponding gene at the yocI-yocJ intergenic region on the B. subtilis genome. Northern blotting revealed that BS203 RNA is transcribed in vegetative growing cells and that the amount of it decreased in the middle of the vegetative phase. A computer-aided prediction of the secondary structure of BS203 RNA revealed three characteristic stem-loop structures. Despite active expression during the vegetative phase, BS203 RNA depletion did not affect the growth of knockout mutants by A phylogenetic comparison of the sequences of BS203 RNA and other Bacillus species including B. cereus and B. halodurans C-125, or with that of Clostridium perfringens suggested that the sequence is unique to Bacillus subtilis. Computational Rnomics predicted that over 100 intergenic regions encode small non-coding RNAs. We experimentally identified 8 novel small RNAs and analyzed their functions in B. subtilis.
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