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SUMMARY:Prof. Cynthia Sharma\, Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg: 
 Small RNAs and small proteins in stress response  and virulence control of
  pathogenic Epsilonproteobacteria
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/Berlin:20251028T090000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/Berlin:20251028T100000
DTSTAMP:20260407T144543Z
UID:ba7d5f336e264461966f2b6190fabbdd@www.uni-marburg.de
CATEGORIES:()
CREATED:20241205T125047Z
DESCRIPTION:https://www.uni-marburg.de/en/synmikro/grk2937/whats-on/dates-
 and-events/grk2937_speaker-series_cynthia-sharma\nSpeaker Series. \nAbstra
 ct: Non-coding RNAs and associated RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) play centra
 l roles in diverse physiological processes and disease development in all 
 kingdoms of life. Research in our lab focuses on RNA-based regulation in b
 acterial pathogens. We are especially interested in the molecular mechanis
 ms and physiological roles of small\, regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) and RBPs in 
 bacterial stress response and virulence control. In my talk\, I will descr
 ibe multiple examples of diverse mechanisms of gene regulation in bacteria
 . For example\, we recently discovered two sRNAs in the food-borne pathoge
 n Campylobacter jejuni involved in flagella biogenesis and control of moti
 lity\, a key virulence trait of Campylobacter. While biogenesis of the com
 plex flagellar machinery requires strict hierarchical transcriptional cont
 rol of the individual components\, less is known about post-transcriptiona
 l control of flagella biogenesis via sRNAs. In C. jejuni\, we found two sR
 NAs with opposing effects on the flagellar cascade: CJnc230 sRNA is proces
 sed from the mRNA encoding the flagellar structural hook protein FlgE and 
 acts as an enhancer of flagellar length and motility. In contrast\, overex
 pression of CJnc170 sRNA\, which is expressed downstream in the transcript
 ional cascade\, represses flagellar length and motility. This interplay of
  two sRNAs fine-tunes flagellar biosynthesis through balancing of the hier
 archically expressed components and such post-transcriptional regulation o
 f flagellar biogenesis via sRNAs is emerging to be more widespread among b
 acteria. \nIn addition to small RNAs\, we are also studying another class 
 of small gene products\, so-called small proteins (<70aa). To globally ide
 ntify small open reading frames (sORFs) that encode small proteins\, we ha
 ve been employing and developing diverse ribosome profiling approaches for
  global translatome analyses. Small proteins are an emerging\, yet largely
  unexplored class of gene products involved in diverse cellular processes\
 , which often interact with larger protein complexes. For example\, in add
 ition to the above mentioned sRNAs involved in flagella regulation\, we id
 entified a small protein essential for flagella biogenesis and motility of
  C. jejuni.\nTo globally identify interaction partners of RNAs\, we are al
 so employing genome-wide approaches\, such as RBP capture methods. We rece
 ntly developed a new RNA interactome approach for bacteria based on primar
 y transcript capture. Our pilot screens in the intestinal pathogens Salmon
 ella and Campylobacter jejuni successfully captured known RBPs but also un
 covered many new RBP candidates\, including metabolic or cell division pro
 teins that lack canonical RNA binding domains. We also identified a pair o
 f KH-domain proteins\, KhpA and KhpB\, in C. jejuni. KhpA/B homologs are w
 idespread among bacteria\, but their cellular roles remain poorly understo
 od. Based on co-immunoprecipitation assays\, we validated KhpA/B interacti
 on and identified overlapping and distinct sets of RNAs bound by both prot
 eins as well as crucial RNA binding domains of both proteins. \nOverall\, 
 many players in bacterial regulatory networks remain to be discovered. Dec
 iphering their mechanisms will provide new insights into molecular princip
 les of gene regulation as well as virulence control of bacterial pathogens
  and open new ways to better treat and prevent infections.
LAST-MODIFIED:20251027T092004Z
LOCATION:SYNMIKRO Lecture Hall
URL:https://www.uni-marburg.de/en/synmikro/grk2937/whats-on/dates-and-even
 ts/grk2937_speaker-series_cynthia-sharma
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