Publications by authors named "Theresa Sorger-Domenigg"

(Pae) is an opportunistic human pathogen, able to resist host defense mechanisms and antibiotic treatment. In Pae, the master regulator of stress responses RpoS (σ) is involved in the regulation of quorum sensing and several virulence genes. Here, we report that the sRNA ReaL translationally silences mRNA, which results in a decrease of the RpoS levels.

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Bioinformatic approaches employed to analyse intergenic regions of Pseudomonas aeruginosa O1 (PAO1) for small RNAs (sRNAs) revealed a putative RNA gene encoded upstream of the nitrate assimilation operon nirBD-PA1779-cobA. Here, we show that this RNA, termed nitrogen assimilation leader A (NalA), represents the leader RNA of the nirBD-PA1779-cobA operon, and that nalA transcription is σ(54)- and NtrC-dependent. A PAO1 nalA deletion strain and a strain bearing a deletion in ORF PA1785 failed to grow on nitrate.

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Quorum sensing, a cell-to-cell communication system based on small signal molecules, is employed by the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa to regulate virulence and biofilm development. Moreover, regulation by small trans-encoded RNAs has become a focal issue in studies of virulence gene expression of bacterial pathogens. In this study, we have identified the small RNA PhrS as an activator of PqsR synthesis, one of the key quorum-sensing regulators in P.

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Inactivation of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PAO1) hfq gene, encoding the Sm-like Hfq protein, resulted in pleiotropic effects that included an attenuated virulence. As regulation by Hfq often involves the action of small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs), we have used a shotgun cloning approach (RNomics) and bioinformatic tools to identify sRNAs in strain PAO1. For cDNA library construction, total RNA was extracted from PAO1 cultures either grown to stationary phase or exposed to human serum.

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In Pseudomonas aeruginosa the Rsm system is involved in regulation of quorum-sensing and virulence gene expression. Our recent studies revealed that the stability and abundance of the non-coding RNA RsmY, which antagonizes the translational regulator RsmA, is dependent on Hfq. Here, we show that Hfq and RsmA bind concurrently to RsmY.

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Article Synopsis
  • The Las and Rhl quorum-sensing systems in Pseudomonas aeruginosa regulate virulence factor production under stress conditions, with evidence showing that Hfq, a Sm-like RNA-binding protein, influences about 5% of P. aeruginosa's transcripts.
  • Hfq enhances the translation of the rhlI gene, crucial for the production of the signaling molecule C4-HSL, while having a lesser effect on other QS-regulated genes like rhlR and qscR.
  • The study suggests that Hfq stabilizes the regulatory RNA RsmY, which in turn binds to the repressor RsmA, thus decreasing its negative impact on rhlI expression and contributing to a model of Hfq's regulatory network
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