Riboswitches and small RNAs in Bacilli under different thermal conditions

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jörg Stülke
• Subject Area: Metabolism, Biochemistry and Genetics of Microorganisms
• Term: from 2007 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 39952618

Bacteria that grow at different temperatures have to adapt to these conditions. This has intensively been studied for proteins and lipids. However, with the recent discovery of the general importance of small RNAs and riboswitches in the control of gene expression, metabolism and physiology in bacteria, it seems obvious that the novel RNA elements must be optimized to work at the temperature their organism lives at. The bacilli are a group of Gram-positive bacteria that have a representative (B. subtilis) that belongs to the best-understood organisms. On the other hand, many members of this group live under rather harsh conditions, among them low and high temperatures. We will therefore identify novel small RNA regulatory elements with a special emphasis on carbon storage regulation and the psychrophilic and thermophilic organisms. For some of these elements, we will identify the biological function. With these information at hand, we will then initiate a study on the activity of the regulatory elements at different temperatures. Based on this study, we will perform a mutagenesis to identify the determinants that are responsible for the adaptation of the RNA regulators to different temperatures.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1258: Sensory and Regulatory RNAs in Prokaryotes