Abstract
The 5'-untranslated region of the long-lived Escherichia coli ompA transcript functions as an mRNA stabilizer capable of prolonging the lifetime in E. coli of a number of heterologous messages to which it is fused. To elucidate the structural basis of differential mRNA stability in bacteria, the domains of the ompA 5'-untranslated region that allow it to protect mRNA from degradation have been identified by mutational analysis. The presence of a stem-loop no more than 2-4 nucleotides from the extreme 5' terminus of this RNA segment is crucial to its stabilizing influence, whereas the sequence of the stem-loop is relatively unimportant. The potential to form a hairpin very close to the 5' end is a feature common to a number of stable prokaryotic messages. Moreover, the lifetime of a normally labile message (bla mRNA) can be prolonged in E. coli by adding a simple hairpin structure at its 5' terminus. Accelerated degradation of ompA mRNA in the absence of a 5'-terminal stem-loop appears to start downstream of the 5' end. We propose that E. coli messages beginning with a single-stranded RNA segment of significant length are preferentially targeted by a degradative ribonuclease that interacts with the mRNA 5' terminus before cleaving internally at one or more distal sites.
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Dates
Type | When |
---|---|
Created | 18 years, 2 months ago (June 5, 2007, 5:15 p.m.) |
Deposited | 3 years, 9 months ago (Nov. 13, 2021, 11:23 p.m.) |
Indexed | 2 weeks, 2 days ago (Aug. 12, 2025, 6:01 p.m.) |
Issued | 33 years, 7 months ago (Jan. 1, 1992) |
Published | 33 years, 7 months ago (Jan. 1, 1992) |
Published Online | 33 years, 7 months ago (Jan. 1, 1992) |
Published Print | 33 years, 7 months ago (Jan. 1, 1992) |
@article{Emory_1992, title={A 5’-terminal stem-loop structure can stabilize mRNA in Escherichia coli.}, volume={6}, ISSN={1549-5477}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1101/gad.6.1.135}, DOI={10.1101/gad.6.1.135}, number={1}, journal={Genes & Development}, publisher={Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory}, author={Emory, S A and Bouvet, P and Belasco, J G}, year={1992}, month=jan, pages={135–148} }