Identification of the Acinetobacter baumannii Ribonuclease P Catalytic Subunit: Cleavage of a Target mRNA in the Presence of an External Guide Sequence

The bacterial ribonuclease P or RNase P holoenzyme is usually composed of a catalytic RNA subunit, M1, and a cofactor protein, C5. This enzyme was first identified for its role in maturation of tRNAs by endonucleolytic cleavage of the pre-tRNA. The RNase P endonucleolytic activity is characterized b...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Carol Davies-Sala, Saumya Jani, Angeles Zorreguieta, Marcelo E. Tolmasky
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2018-10-01
Series:Frontiers in Microbiology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02408/full
_version_ 1818418360272027648
author Carol Davies-Sala
Carol Davies-Sala
Carol Davies-Sala
Saumya Jani
Angeles Zorreguieta
Angeles Zorreguieta
Marcelo E. Tolmasky
author_facet Carol Davies-Sala
Carol Davies-Sala
Carol Davies-Sala
Saumya Jani
Angeles Zorreguieta
Angeles Zorreguieta
Marcelo E. Tolmasky
author_sort Carol Davies-Sala
collection DOAJ
description The bacterial ribonuclease P or RNase P holoenzyme is usually composed of a catalytic RNA subunit, M1, and a cofactor protein, C5. This enzyme was first identified for its role in maturation of tRNAs by endonucleolytic cleavage of the pre-tRNA. The RNase P endonucleolytic activity is characterized by having structural but not sequence substrate requirements. This property led to development of EGS technology, which consists of utilizing a short antisense oligonucleotide that when forming a duplex with a target RNA induces its cleavage by RNase P. This technology is being explored for designing therapies that interfere with expression of genes, in the case of bacterial infections EGS technology could be applied to target essential, virulence, or antibiotic resistant genes. Acinetobacter baumannii is a problematic pathogen that is commonly resistant to multiple antibiotics, and EGS technology could be utilized to design alternative therapies. To better understand the A. baumannii RNase P we first identified and characterized the catalytic subunit. We identified a gene coding for an RNA species, M1Ab, with the expected features of the RNase P M1 subunit. A recombinant clone coding for M1Ab complemented the M1 thermosensitive mutant Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) T7A49, which upon transformation was able to grow at the non-permissive temperature. M1Ab showed in vitro catalytic activity in combination with the C5 protein cofactor from E. coli as well as with that from A. baumannii, which was identified, cloned and partially purified. M1Ab was also able to cleave a target mRNA in the presence of an EGS with efficiency comparable to that of the E. coli M1, suggesting that EGS technology could be a viable option for designing therapeutic alternatives to treat multiresistant A. baumannii infections.
first_indexed 2024-12-14T12:21:26Z
format Article
id doaj.art-ffb77eb19f914d27900a51a62c8f2010
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1664-302X
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-14T12:21:26Z
publishDate 2018-10-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Microbiology
spelling doaj.art-ffb77eb19f914d27900a51a62c8f20102022-12-21T23:01:29ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Microbiology1664-302X2018-10-01910.3389/fmicb.2018.02408386671Identification of the Acinetobacter baumannii Ribonuclease P Catalytic Subunit: Cleavage of a Target mRNA in the Presence of an External Guide SequenceCarol Davies-Sala0Carol Davies-Sala1Carol Davies-Sala2Saumya Jani3Angeles Zorreguieta4Angeles Zorreguieta5Marcelo E. Tolmasky6Center for Applied Biotechnology Studies, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United StatesFundación Instituto Leloir, IIBBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaCenter for Applied Biotechnology Studies, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United StatesFundación Instituto Leloir, IIBBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaCenter for Applied Biotechnology Studies, College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, California State University, Fullerton, Fullerton, CA, United StatesThe bacterial ribonuclease P or RNase P holoenzyme is usually composed of a catalytic RNA subunit, M1, and a cofactor protein, C5. This enzyme was first identified for its role in maturation of tRNAs by endonucleolytic cleavage of the pre-tRNA. The RNase P endonucleolytic activity is characterized by having structural but not sequence substrate requirements. This property led to development of EGS technology, which consists of utilizing a short antisense oligonucleotide that when forming a duplex with a target RNA induces its cleavage by RNase P. This technology is being explored for designing therapies that interfere with expression of genes, in the case of bacterial infections EGS technology could be applied to target essential, virulence, or antibiotic resistant genes. Acinetobacter baumannii is a problematic pathogen that is commonly resistant to multiple antibiotics, and EGS technology could be utilized to design alternative therapies. To better understand the A. baumannii RNase P we first identified and characterized the catalytic subunit. We identified a gene coding for an RNA species, M1Ab, with the expected features of the RNase P M1 subunit. A recombinant clone coding for M1Ab complemented the M1 thermosensitive mutant Escherichia coli BL21(DE3) T7A49, which upon transformation was able to grow at the non-permissive temperature. M1Ab showed in vitro catalytic activity in combination with the C5 protein cofactor from E. coli as well as with that from A. baumannii, which was identified, cloned and partially purified. M1Ab was also able to cleave a target mRNA in the presence of an EGS with efficiency comparable to that of the E. coli M1, suggesting that EGS technology could be a viable option for designing therapeutic alternatives to treat multiresistant A. baumannii infections.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02408/fullRNase PAcinetobacterESKAPEribozymeEGS technologyantisense
spellingShingle Carol Davies-Sala
Carol Davies-Sala
Carol Davies-Sala
Saumya Jani
Angeles Zorreguieta
Angeles Zorreguieta
Marcelo E. Tolmasky
Identification of the Acinetobacter baumannii Ribonuclease P Catalytic Subunit: Cleavage of a Target mRNA in the Presence of an External Guide Sequence
Frontiers in Microbiology
RNase P
Acinetobacter
ESKAPE
ribozyme
EGS technology
antisense
title Identification of the Acinetobacter baumannii Ribonuclease P Catalytic Subunit: Cleavage of a Target mRNA in the Presence of an External Guide Sequence
title_full Identification of the Acinetobacter baumannii Ribonuclease P Catalytic Subunit: Cleavage of a Target mRNA in the Presence of an External Guide Sequence
title_fullStr Identification of the Acinetobacter baumannii Ribonuclease P Catalytic Subunit: Cleavage of a Target mRNA in the Presence of an External Guide Sequence
title_full_unstemmed Identification of the Acinetobacter baumannii Ribonuclease P Catalytic Subunit: Cleavage of a Target mRNA in the Presence of an External Guide Sequence
title_short Identification of the Acinetobacter baumannii Ribonuclease P Catalytic Subunit: Cleavage of a Target mRNA in the Presence of an External Guide Sequence
title_sort identification of the acinetobacter baumannii ribonuclease p catalytic subunit cleavage of a target mrna in the presence of an external guide sequence
topic RNase P
Acinetobacter
ESKAPE
ribozyme
EGS technology
antisense
url https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02408/full
work_keys_str_mv AT caroldaviessala identificationoftheacinetobacterbaumanniiribonucleasepcatalyticsubunitcleavageofatargetmrnainthepresenceofanexternalguidesequence
AT caroldaviessala identificationoftheacinetobacterbaumanniiribonucleasepcatalyticsubunitcleavageofatargetmrnainthepresenceofanexternalguidesequence
AT caroldaviessala identificationoftheacinetobacterbaumanniiribonucleasepcatalyticsubunitcleavageofatargetmrnainthepresenceofanexternalguidesequence
AT saumyajani identificationoftheacinetobacterbaumanniiribonucleasepcatalyticsubunitcleavageofatargetmrnainthepresenceofanexternalguidesequence
AT angeleszorreguieta identificationoftheacinetobacterbaumanniiribonucleasepcatalyticsubunitcleavageofatargetmrnainthepresenceofanexternalguidesequence
AT angeleszorreguieta identificationoftheacinetobacterbaumanniiribonucleasepcatalyticsubunitcleavageofatargetmrnainthepresenceofanexternalguidesequence
AT marceloetolmasky identificationoftheacinetobacterbaumanniiribonucleasepcatalyticsubunitcleavageofatargetmrnainthepresenceofanexternalguidesequence