[Seminar] Bacterial small RNAs: From strings of nucleotides to RNA networks

Seminar

Title: Bacterial small RNAs: From strings of nucleotides to RNA networks

Speaker: Kai Papenfort

Affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany

Host: Karina Xavier, in the framework of the MolBioS PhD program

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Abstract:

RNA is common to all living organisms. Despite its major function as the coding agent for protein synthesis, an increasing number of regulatory roles have been assigned to RNA in prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms. RNA-based expression control can affect all layers of gene regulation, including transcription initiation, translation control and protein activity. RNA regulators are also gathering momentum as control devices in synthetic biology and biotechnology.

The most common group of regulatory RNAs in bacteria are the so-called small RNAs (sRNAs), which are now known to play important roles in the physiology of many microbes. The two sRNAs, SgrS and RprA, are highly conserved among the enterobacteria and have served as models to understand the molecular underpinnings controlling RNA-based gene regulation in bacteria. In this seminar, I will discuss how SgrS and RprA recognize and select target mRNAs, their physiological roles and how sRNAs can orchestrate complex gene regulatory networks to drive bacterial behavior.