Early termination of the Shiga toxin transcript generates a regulatory small RNA

Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli is a significant human pathogen that causes disease ranging from hemorrhagic colitis to hemolytic uremic syndrome. The latter can lead to potentially fatal renal failure and is caused by the release of Shiga toxins that are encoded within lambdoid bacteriophages. The toxins are encoded within the late transcript of the phage and are regulated by antitermination of the PR′ late promoter during lytic induction of the phage. During lysogeny, the late transcript is prematurely terminated at tR′ immediately downstream of PR′, generating a short RNA that is a byproduct of antitermination regulation. We demonstrate that this short transcript binds the small RNA chaperone Hfq, and is processed into a stable 74-nt regulatory small RNA that we have termed StxS. StxS represses expression of Shiga toxin 1 under lysogenic conditions through direct interactions with the stx1AB transcript. StxS acts in trans to activate expression of the general stress response sigma factor, RpoS, through direct interactions with an activating seed sequence within the 5′ UTR. Activation of RpoS promotes high cell density growth under nutrient-limiting conditions. Many phages utilize antitermination to regulate the lytic/lysogenic switch and our results demonstrate that short RNAs generated as a byproduct of this regulation can acquire regulatory small RNA functions that modulate host fitness.

Differentiation-Dependent Chromatin Rearrangement Coincides with Activation of Human Papillomavirus Type 31 Late Gene Expression

ABSTRACT The life cycle of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) is tightly linked to the differentiation status of the host cell. While early genes are expressed during the initial stages of viral infection, late gene expression occurs in the suprabasal layers of the cervical epithelium. Late genes encode E1^E4, a cytosolic protein, and capsid proteins L1 and L2. We have mapped over 30 initiation sites for late transcripts and show that the transcripts initiate in a 200-nucleotide region within the E7 open reading frame. The mechanisms regulating the activation of late gene expression, however, are not yet understood. DNase I hypersensitivity analysis of HPV-31 chromatin in cell lines that maintain viral genomes extrachromosomally indicates that a major shift in nuclease digestion occurs upon differentiation. In undifferentiated cells, hypersensitive regions exist in the upstream regulatory region proximal to the E6 open reading frame. Upon differentiation, a region between nucleotides 659 and 811 in the E7 open reading frame becomes accessible to DNase I. These results indicate that the late transcript initiation region becomes accessible to transcription factor binding upon differentiation. Several complexes mediate chromatin rearrangement, and we tested whether histone acetylation was sufficient for late transcript activation. Treatment with the histone deacetylase inhibitor trichostatin A was found to be insufficient to activate late gene expression in undifferentiated cells. However, it did activate expression of early transcripts. These results suggest that chromatin remodeling around the late promoter occurs upon epithelial differentiation and that mechanisms in addition to histone deacetylation contribute to activation of late gene expression.

Expression, Regulation, and Mode of Action of the AbiG Abortive Infection System of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris UC653

ABSTRACT The abortive infection system AbiG is encoded by the lactococcal plasmid pCI750. The abiG locus (consisting of two genes,abiGi and abiGii) was examined by Northern blot analysis, revealing two transcripts of approximately 2.8 and 1.5 kb which were homologous to the two gene-specific probes. A transcriptional start site was mapped upstream of abiGi, and it appeared that the two genes were cotranscribed, resulting in the 2.8-kb transcript. The smaller transcript may be the result of independent transcription of abiGii withinabiGi or of the presence of a weak terminator withinabiGii. The locus was shown to be constitutively expressed. Evidence is presented for the possible existence of a second Abi mechanism on pCI750. Examination of phage sk1 RNA synthesis demonstrated that both the subcloned AbiG and, to a greater extent, pCI750 inhibited this process. pCI750 also severely inhibited synthesis of both early and late phage c2 transcripts, while the presence of the subclone resulted in a reduction in late transcript synthesis only.

Transcription of novel genes, including a gene linked to the mating-type locus, induced by Chlamydomonas fertilization

Six cDNA clones have been identified that are complementary to transcripts present in young zygotes of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii but absent from vegetative and gametic cells. Five early transcripts are synthesized within 5 to 10 min of fertilization; the sixth, late, transcript is not synthesized until 90 min following fertilization. Synthesis of both classes requires cell fusion between gametes. Cycloheximide fails to inhibit early mRNA synthesis, indicating that transcription factors must preexist in the gametes and be activated by cytoplasmic confluence. By contrast, cycloheximide blocks synthesis of the late transcript, suggesting that an early protein product(s) is required for expression of the late gene. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of inter- and intraspecific genetic crosses demonstrates that one of the early genes is very tightly linked to the mating-type locus.

Transcription of novel genes, including a gene linked to the mating-type locus, induced by Chlamydomonas fertilization.

Six cDNA clones have been identified that are complementary to transcripts present in young zygotes of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii but absent from vegetative and gametic cells. Five early transcripts are synthesized within 5 to 10 min of fertilization; the sixth, late, transcript is not synthesized until 90 min following fertilization. Synthesis of both classes requires cell fusion between gametes. Cycloheximide fails to inhibit early mRNA synthesis, indicating that transcription factors must preexist in the gametes and be activated by cytoplasmic confluence. By contrast, cycloheximide blocks synthesis of the late transcript, suggesting that an early protein product(s) is required for expression of the late gene. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of inter- and intraspecific genetic crosses demonstrates that one of the early genes is very tightly linked to the mating-type locus.

Sequences on the 3' side of hexanucleotide AAUAAA affect efficiency of cleavage at the polyadenylation site

The hexanucleotide AAUAAA has been demonstrated to be part of the signal for cleavage and polyadenylation at appropriate sites on eucaryotic mRNA precursors. Since this sequence is not unique to polyadenylation sites, it cannot be the entire signal for the cleavage event. We have extended the definition of the polyadenylation cleavage signal by examining the cleavage event at the site of polyadenylation for the simian virus 40 late mRNAs. Using viable mutants, we have determined that deletion of sequences between 3 and 60 nucleotides on the 3' side of the AAUAAA decreases the efficiency of utilization of the normal polyadenylation site. These data strongly indicate a second major element of the polyadenylation signal. The phenotype of these deletion mutants is an enrichment of viral late transcripts longer than the normally polyadenylated RNA in infected cells. These extended transcripts appear to have an increased half-life due to the less efficient cleavage at the normal polyadenylation site. The enriched levels of extended transcripts in cells infected with the deletion mutants allowed us to examine regions of the late transcript which normally are difficult to study. The extended transcripts have several discrete 3' ends which we have analyzed in relation to polyadenylation and other RNA processing events. Two of these ends map to nucleotides 2794 and 2848, which lie within a region of extensive secondary structure which marks the putative processing signal for the formation of the simian virus 40-associated small RNA. A third specific 3' end reveals a cryptic polyadenylation site at approximately nucleotides 2980 to 2985, more than 300 nucleotides beyond the normal polyadenylation site. This site appears to be utilized only in mutants with debilitated normal sites. The significance of sequences on the 3' side of an AAUAAA for efficient polyadenylation at a specific site is discussed.