Small RNA tunes protein

摘要

A small RNA molecule that controls whether bacteria coalesce into biofilms has a surprising mode of action. Small RNAs are known to regulate gene expression by binding to target messenger RNAs, typically blocking their translation into proteins. A team led by Gisela Storz at the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and Poul Valentin-Hansen at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense found that a small RNA produced by Escherichia coli also binds to a target protein. The binding activates synthesis of a compound needed to form a biofilm.