Browsing by Author "Klim, Sarah E."

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    Sibling sRNA RyfA1 Influences Shigella dysenteriae Pathogenesis
    Fris, Megan E.; Broach, William H.; Klim, Sarah E.; Coschigano, Peter W.; Carroll, Ronan K.; Caswell, Clayton C.; Murphy, Erin R. (MDPI, 2017-01-26)
    Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) of Shigella dysenteriae and other pathogens are vital for the regulation of virulence-associated genes and processes. Here, we characterize RyfA1, one member of a sibling pair of sRNAs produced by S. dysenteriae. Unlike its nearly identical sibling molecule, RyfA2, predicted to be encoded almost exclusively by non-pathogenic species, the presence of a gene encoding RyfA1, or a RyfA1-like molecule, is strongly correlated with virulence in a variety of enteropathogens. In S. dysenteriae, the overproduction of RyfA1 negatively impacts the virulence-associated process of cell-to-cell spread as well as the expression of ompC, a gene encoding a major outer membrane protein important for the pathogenesis of Shigella. Interestingly, the production of RyfA1 is controlled by a second sRNA, here termed RyfB1, the first incidence of one regulatory small RNA controlling another in S. dysenteriae or any Shigella species.