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Journal of Bacteriology, February 2009, p. 1330-1342, Vol. 191, No. 4
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00849-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Hfq-Dependent Small Noncoding RNA NrrF Directly Mediates Fur-Dependent Positive Regulation of Succinate Dehydrogenase in Neisseria meningitidis{triangledown}

Matteo M. E. Metruccio,1 Laura Fantappiè,1 Davide Serruto,1 Alessandro Muzzi,1 Davide Roncarati,1,2 Claudio Donati,1 Vincenzo Scarlato,1,2* and Isabel Delany1*

Novartis Vaccines, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy,1 Department of Biology, University of Bologna, Via Selmi 3, 40126 Bologna, Italy2

Received 20 June 2008/ Accepted 30 November 2008

Previous microarray studies have suggested that an indirect mechanism of Fur regulation may be present in meningococcus at the posttranscriptional level through a small regulatory RNA (sRNA) system analogous to that of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Recently, a Fur-regulated sRNA, NrrF, was identified that is involved in the iron regulation of the sdhA and sdhC succinate dehydrogenase genes. Here we report a detailed transcriptional analysis of the nrrF gene and show that NrrF is a Hfq-dependent sRNA. The Hfq protein mediates nrrF downregulation and Fur-dependent upregulation of the sdhCDAB operon, the major in vivo NrrF-regulated operon. NrrF forms a duplex in vitro with a region of complementarity overlapping the sdhDA mRNA junction. Furthermore, Hfq binds to NrrF in vitro and considerably enhances the efficiency of the interaction of the sRNA with the identified target. Our data suggest that Hfq-meditated binding of NrrF to the in vivo target in the sdhCDAB mRNA may cause the rapid degradation of the transcript, resulting in Fur-dependent positive regulation of succinate dehydrogenase. In addition, while the upregulation of sodB and fumB by Fur is dependent on the Hfq protein, it is unaffected in the nrrF knockout, which suggests that there is more than one sRNA regulator involved in iron homeostasis in meningococcus.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Molecular Microbiology Unit, Novartis Vaccines, Via Fiorentina 1, 53100 Siena, Italy. Phone: 39 0577 245343. Fax: 39 0577 243564. E-mail for I. Delany: isabel.delany{at}novartis.com. E-mail for V. Scarlato: enzo.scarlato{at}novartis.com

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 5 December 2008.

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2009, p. 1330-1342, Vol. 191, No. 4
0021-9193/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JB.00849-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Fantappie, L., Metruccio, M. M. E., Seib, K. L., Oriente, F., Cartocci, E., Ferlicca, F., Giuliani, M. M., Scarlato, V., Delany, I. (2009). The RNA Chaperone Hfq Is Involved in Stress Response and Virulence in Neisseria meningitidis and Is a Pleiotropic Regulator of Protein Expression. Infect. Immun. 77: 1842-1853 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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