Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, PO Box 22002, Albany, NY 12201-2002, USA.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2010 Jul;38(12):4067-78. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkq101. Epub 2010 Feb 24.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a major global health problem, infecting millions of people each year. The causative agent of TB, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, is one of the world's most ancient and successful pathogens. However, until recently, no work on small regulatory RNAs had been performed in this organism. Regulatory RNAs are found in all three domains of life, and have already been shown to regulate virulence in well-known pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Vibrio cholera. Here we report the discovery of 34 novel small RNAs (sRNAs) in the TB-complex M. bovis BCG, using a combination of experimental and computational approaches. Putative homologues of many of these sRNAs were also identified in M. tuberculosis and/or M. smegmatis. Those sRNAs that are also expressed in the non-pathogenic M. smegmatis could be functioning to regulate conserved cellular functions. In contrast, those sRNAs identified specifically in M. tuberculosis could be functioning in mediation of virulence, thus rendering them potential targets for novel antimycobacterials. Various features and regulatory aspects of some of these sRNAs are discussed.
结核病（TB）是一个全球性的主要健康问题，每年感染数百万人。结核病的病原体结核分枝杆菌是世界上最古老和最成功的病原体之一。然而，直到最近，这个生物体中还没有进行过任何关于小调控 RNA 的工作。调控 RNA 存在于所有三个生命领域，并且已经被证明可以调节像金黄色葡萄球菌和霍乱弧菌这样的知名病原体的毒力。在这里，我们使用实验和计算相结合的方法，在结核分枝杆菌复合群 M. bovis BCG 中发现了 34 种新型小 RNA（sRNA）。在 M. tuberculosis 和/或 M. smegmatis 中也鉴定出了许多这些 sRNA 的假定同源物。那些在非致病性 M. smegmatis 中也表达的 sRNA 可能在调节保守的细胞功能中发挥作用。相比之下，在 M. tuberculosis 中特异性鉴定的 sRNA 可能在介导毒力方面发挥作用，因此成为新型抗分枝杆菌药物的潜在靶点。我们讨论了其中一些 sRNA 的各种特征和调控方面。
