Since their discovery in 2000, small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) have been extensively studied.  Rather than code for protein, these RNA molecules have critical roles in gene regulation.  While initial studies focused on eukaryotes (like humans), the function of these sRNA in bacteria has become a recent focus of study.  One sRNA found in Escherichia coli (E. coli) and the closely related Salmonella typhimurium, C.0293, is only expressed when cells are grown on minimal media, yet its specific cellular function is unknown.  In vivo homologous recombination was used to delete the C.0293 gene from one strain of E.coli.  By comparing this deletion strain to the normal (wild type) bacteria, we can gain insight into C.0293's function.  Our studies show that C.0293 is required for growth on minimal media.  We also compared the growth under varying salt concentrations.  We observed that the normal cells growth was significantly hampered by the salt compared to the deletion strain's.  Taken together, these data suggest that C.0293 plays an important role in the bacterial stress response.  Future studies will compare growth under other stress conditions, such as high temperature and in the presence of heavy metals.  These studies will hopefully elucidate the specific cellular role of C.0293, potentially helping to lead to the development of better and more directed therapeutics.

Elucidating the role of the sRNA C.0293 in the bacterial stress response

255th National Meeting (2018)

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