C. Heck et al., Initial events in the degradation of the polycistronic puf mRNA in Rhodobacter capsulatus and consequences for further processing steps, MOL MICROB, 35(1), 2000, pp. 90-100
Individual segments of the polycistronic pufmRNA of Rhodobacter capsulatus
exhibit extremely different half-lives contributing to the stoichiometry of
light-harvesting and reaction centre complexes of this facultative phototr
ophic bacterium. While earlier investigations shed light on the processes l
eading to the degradation of the 2.7 kb pufBALMX mRNA and, consequently, to
the formation of the highly stable 0.5 kb pufBA mRNA processing product, w
e have now investigated the initial events in the degradation of the highly
unstable 3.2 kb pufQBALMX primary transcript. Sequence modifications of tw
o putative RNase E recognition sites within the pufQ coding region provide
strong evidence that RNase E-mediated cleavage of a sequence at the 3' end
of pufQ is involved in rate-limiting cleavage of the primary pufQBALMX tran
script in vivo. The putative RNase E recognition sequence at the 5' end of
pufQ is cleaved in vitro but does not contribute to rate-limiting cleavage
in vivo. Analysis of the decay of pufmRNA segments transcribed from wildtyp
e and mutated pufDNA sequences in R. capsulatus and Escherichia coil reveal
that RNase E-mediated cleavage within the pufQ mRNA sequence also affects
the stability of the 0.5 kb pufBA processing product. These findings demons
trate that the stability of a certain mRNA segment depends on the pathway o
f processing of its precursor molecule.