The structure of fadL mRNA and its interactions with RybB sRNA

Abstract

Small bacterial RNAs (sRNAs) regulate translation by pairing with complementary sequences in their target mRNAs, in a process which is often dependent on the Hfq protein. Here, the structure probing of a 95-nt long fragment of Salmonella fadL mRNA showed that the annealing of sRNA RybB to the coding sequence of fadL induced local rearrangements in mRNA structure. The filter retention data showed that Hfq bound RybB and fadL with tight affinities. Moreover, Hfq increased the rate of RybB annealing to fadL mRNA. Overall, the data showed that the Hfq protein directly participates in RybB interactions with fadL mRNA.