scholarly journals RNase/Anti-RNase Activities of the Bacterial parD Toxin-Antitoxin System

2005 ◽  
Vol 187 (9) ◽  
pp. 3151-3157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana J. Muñoz-Gómez ◽  
Marc Lemonnier ◽  
Sandra Santos-Sierra ◽  
Alfredo Berzal-Herranz ◽  
Ramón Díaz-Orejas

ABSTRACT The bacterial parD toxin-antitoxin system of plasmid R1 encodes two proteins, the Kid toxin and its cognate antitoxin, Kis. Kid cleaves RNA and inhibits protein synthesis and cell growth in Escherichia coli. Here, we show that Kid promotes RNA degradation and inhibition of protein synthesis in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. These new activities of the Kid toxin were counteracted by the Kis antitoxin and were not displayed by the KidR85W variant, which is nontoxic in E. coli. Moreover, while Kid cleaved single- and double-stranded RNA with a preference for UAA or UAC triplets, KidR85W maintained this sequence preference but hardly cleaved double-stranded RNA. Kid was formerly shown to inhibit DNA replication of the ColE1 plasmid. Here we provide in vitro evidence that Kid cleaves the ColE1 RNA II primer, which is required for the initiation of ColE1 replication. In contrast, KidR85W did not affect the stability of RNA II, nor did it inhibit the in vitro replication of ColE1. Thus, the endoribonuclease and the cytotoxic and DNA replication-inhibitory activities of Kid seem tightly correlated. We propose that the spectrum of action of this toxin extends beyond the sole inhibition of protein synthesis to control a broad range of RNA-regulated cellular processes.

2006 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 362-364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xilin Zhao ◽  
Muhammad Malik ◽  
Nymph Chan ◽  
Alex Drlica-Wagner ◽  
Jian-Ying Wang ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Inhibition of DNA replication in an Escherichia coli dnaB-22 mutant failed to block quinolone-mediated lethality. Inhibition of protein synthesis by chloramphenicol inhibited nalidixic acid lethality and, to a lesser extent, ciprofloxacin lethality in both dnaB-22 and wild-type cells. Thus, major features of quinolone-mediated lethality do not depend on ongoing replication.


1986 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-61
Author(s):  
E J Baker ◽  
L R Keller ◽  
J A Schloss ◽  
J L Rosenbaum

After flagellar detachment in Chlamydomonas reinhardi, there is a rapid synthesis and accumulation of mRNAs for tubulin and other flagellar proteins. Maximum levels of these mRNAs (flagellar RNAs) are reached within 1 h after deflagellation, after which they are rapidly degraded to their predeflagellation levels. The degradation of alpha- and beta-tubulin RNAs was shown to be due to the shortening of their half-lives after accumulation (Baker et al., J. Cell Biol. 99:2074-2081, 1984). Deflagellation in the presence of protein synthesis inhibitors results in the accumulation of tubulin and other flagellar mRNAs by kinetics similar to those of controls. However, unlike controls, in which the accumulated mRNAs are rapidly degraded, these mRNAs are stabilized in cycloheximide. The stabilization by cycloheximide is specific for the flagellar mRNAs accumulated after deflagellation, since there is no change in the levels of flagellar mRNAs in nondeflagellated (uninduced) cells in the presence of cycloheximide. The kinetics of flagellar mRNA synthesis after deflagellation are shown to be the same in cycloheximide-treated and control cells by in vivo labeling and in vitro nuclear runoff experiments. These results show that protein synthesis is not required for the induced synthesis of flagellar mRNAs, and that all necessary transcriptional control factors are present in the cell before deflagellation, but that protein synthesis is required for the accelerated degradation of the accumulated flagellar mRNAs. Since cycloheximide prevents the induced synthesis and accumulation of flagellar proteins, it is possible that the product(s) of protein synthesis required for the accelerated decay of these mRNAs is a flagellar protein(s). The possibility that one or more flagellar proteins autoregulate the stability of the flagellar mRNAs is discussed.


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