Journal
RNA
Volume 20, Issue 11, Pages 1715-1724Publisher
COLD SPRING HARBOR LAB PRESS, PUBLICATIONS DEPT
DOI: 10.1261/rna.047241.114
Keywords
noncoding RNAs; tRNA-like domain; Ro60 autoantigen
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Funding
- National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship
- Gruber Foundation Science Fellowship
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) [R01 GM073863]
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Many bacteria encode an ortholog of the Ro60 autoantigen, a ring-shaped protein that is bound in animal cells to noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) called Y RNAs. Studies in Deinococcus radiodurans revealed that Y RNA tethers Ro60 to polynucleotide phosphorylase, specializing this exoribonuclease for structured RNA degradation. Although Ro60 orthologs are present in a wide range of bacteria, Y RNAs have been detected in only two species, making it unclear whether these ncRNAs are common Ro60 partners in bacteria. In this study, we report that likely Y RNAs are encoded near Ro60 in >250 bacterial and phage species. By comparing conserved features, we discovered that at least one Y RNA in each species contains a domain resembling tRNA. We show that these RNAs contain nucleotide modifications characteristic of tRNA and are substrates for several enzymes that recognize tRNAs. Our studies confirm the importance of Y RNAs in bacterial physiology and identify a new class of ncRNAs that mimic tRNA.
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