Functional implications of ribosomal RNA methylation in response to environmental stress

Abstract

The study of post-transcriptional RNA modifications has long been focused on the roles these chemical modifications play in maintaining ribosomal function. The field of ribosomal RNA modification has reached a milestone in recent years with the confirmation of the final unknown ribosomal RNA methyltransferase in Escherichia coli in 2012. Furthermore, the last 10 years have brought numerous discoveries in non-coding RNAs and the roles that post-transcriptional modification play in their functions. These observations indicate the need for a revitalization of this field of research to understand the role modifications play in maintaining cellular health in a dynamic environment. With the advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies, the time is ripe for leaps and bounds forward. This review discusses ribosomal RNA methyltransferases and their role in responding to external stress in Escherichia coli, with a specific focus on knockout studies and on analysis of transcriptome data with respect to rRNA methyltransferases.

Correcting direct effects of ethanol on translation and transcription machinery confers ethanol tolerance in bacteria

“…A mutation in rpsL, encoding a ribosomal protein known to be important for streptomycin binding and accurate translation (S12), was shown to increase ethanol tolerance in an E. coli rho mutant background (14). Additionally, ethanol tolerance is conferred on E. coli by overexpression (17) of RlmH, which methylates a 23S rRNA pseudouridine near the ribosomal decoding center (60), and of TruB, which catalyzes formation of pseudouridine-55 on tRNAs and is important for efficient translation of certain codons (61). Finally, ethanol has been reported to promote the growth of streptomycin-dependent mutants of E. coli in the absence of streptomycin (41,62), suggesting that ethanol, like streptomycin, may induce compensatory conformational changes in the decoding center of the ribosome.…”

High-throughput single-base resolution mapping of RNA 2΄-O-methylated residues

“…It is clear that it might influence several features of the RNA like folding, assembly or stability (16). One of the possible theories is that ribose methylation assists and guides the assembly of ribosomes by maintaining the rigidity of the RNA backbone at key regions of the rRNA (17). Interestingly, thermophilic organisms undergo higher amounts of ribose methylations than mesophilic organisms (18), in agreement with the increased structural rigidity provided by ribose methylations (19).…”

Global plant-responding mechanisms to salt stress: physiological and molecular levels and implications in biotechnology

“…MiR393 has been discovered to be strongly up-regulated by drought, high-salinity treatments (Dharmasiri et al, 2005;Kepinski & Leyser, 2005). In the nearest, the ribosomal RNA methylation was discovered to respond to abiotic stress (Baldridge & Contreras, 2013). In addition, the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways, which are involved in stress responses, are the highly conserved and important regulating system in plants (Colcombet & Hirt, 2008;Sinha et al, 2011).…”