La Fortezza Marco, Verwilt Jasper, Cossey Sarah M, Eisner Sabrina A, Velicer Gregory J, Yu Yuen-Tsu N
Institute of Integrative System Biology, ETH, Zürich, Switzerland.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
iScience. 2025 Feb 12;28(3):111980. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2025.111980. eCollection 2025 Mar 21.
Small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) regulate gene expression of many biological processes. During growth, some myxobacteria produce an sRNA-Pxr-that blocks fruiting-body development, an aggregative multicellular process typically triggered by starvation. Deleting the gene allows to develop despite nutrient availability, but Pxr binding targets and the genes regulated by Pxr remain unknown. Here, after showing that Pxr controls the temporal dynamics of development, we compare the transcriptomes of vegetative cells possessing vs. lacking Over half of the genes impacted by deletion are linked to development, including known and previously undiscovered critical regulators. Pxr also positively regulates genes associated with general metabolic processes. Our study discovers phenotypic effects of Pxr regulation with ecological importance, identifies the suite of genes this sRNA controls during vegetative growth and reveals a previously unknown developmental regulator. These findings provide insights into the molecular mechanism controlling myxobacterial development.
小非编码RNA（sRNA）调节许多生物过程的基因表达。在生长过程中，一些黏细菌会产生一种sRNA——Pxr，它会阻碍子实体发育，子实体发育是一种通常由饥饿触发的聚集性多细胞过程。删除该基因会使黏细菌在营养充足的情况下仍能发育，但Pxr的结合靶点以及受Pxr调控的基因仍不清楚。在这里，在表明Pxr控制发育的时间动态之后，我们比较了具有和缺乏Pxr的营养细胞的转录组。受Pxr缺失影响的基因中，超过一半与发育有关，包括已知的和以前未发现的关键调节因子。Pxr还正向调节与一般代谢过程相关的基因。我们的研究发现了具有生态重要性的Pxr调控的表型效应，确定了这种sRNA在营养生长过程中控制的一组基因，并揭示了一个以前未知的发育调节因子。这些发现为控制黏细菌发育的分子机制提供了见解。
