Tomasi Francesca G, Kimura Satoshi, Rubin Eric J, Waldor Matthew K
Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA USA.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
bioRxiv. 2023 Jun 9:2023.02.20.529267. doi: 10.1101/2023.02.20.529267.
Diverse chemical modifications fine-tune the function and metabolism of tRNA. Although tRNA modification is universal in all kingdoms of life, profiles of modifications, their functions, and physiological roles have not been elucidated in most organisms including the human pathogen, ( ), the causative agent of tuberculosis. To identify physiologically important modifications, we surveyed the tRNA of , using tRNA sequencing (tRNA-seq) and genome-mining. Homology searches identified 23 candidate tRNA modifying enzymes that are predicted to create 16 tRNA modifications across all tRNA species. Reverse transcription-derived error signatures in tRNA-seq predicted the sites and presence of 9 modifications. Several chemical treatments prior to tRNA-seq expanded the number of predictable modifications. Deletion of genes encoding two modifying enzymes, TruB and MnmA, eliminated their respective tRNA modifications, validating the presence of modified sites in tRNA species. Furthermore, the absence of attenuated growth in macrophages, suggesting that MnmA-dependent tRNA uridine sulfation contributes to intracellular growth. Our results lay the foundation for unveiling the roles of tRNA modifications in pathogenesis and developing new therapeutics against tuberculosis.
多种化学修饰可微调转运RNA(tRNA)的功能和代谢。尽管tRNA修饰在所有生命王国中都很普遍,但在包括人类病原体结核分枝杆菌( )(结核病的病原体)在内的大多数生物体中,修饰的概况、其功能和生理作用尚未阐明。为了鉴定具有生理重要性的修饰,我们使用tRNA测序(tRNA-seq)和基因组挖掘技术对结核分枝杆菌的tRNA进行了研究。同源性搜索鉴定出23种候选tRNA修饰酶,预计这些酶可在所有tRNA种类中产生16种tRNA修饰。tRNA-seq中逆转录衍生的错误特征预测了9种修饰的位点和存在情况。在tRNA-seq之前进行的几种化学处理增加了可预测修饰的数量。删除编码两种修饰酶TruB和MnmA 的基因消除了它们各自的tRNA修饰,证实了tRNA种类中修饰位点的存在。此外,MnmA的缺失减弱了结核分枝杆菌在巨噬细胞中的生长,这表明依赖MnmA的tRNA尿苷硫酸化有助于结核分枝杆菌的细胞内生长。我们的结果为揭示tRNA修饰在结核分枝杆菌发病机制中的作用以及开发抗结核病新疗法奠定了基础。