The hopC RNA motif is a predicted cis-regulatory element identified by a bioinformatic screen for conserved RNA secondary structures.[1] hopC RNAs are exclusively found within bacteria classified within the genus Helicobacter, some of which are human pathogens that infect the stomach and can cause ulcers.
| hopC RNA | |
|---|---|
 Consensus secondary structure of hopC RNAs | |
| Identifiers | |
| Symbol | hopC RNA |
| Rfam | RF01741 |
| Other data | |
| RNA type | Cis-regulatory element |
| Domain(s) | Helicobacter |
| PDB structures | PDBe |
hopC RNAs are found upstream of an operon of two genes called hopC and hopB (also called alpa and alpB). Experiments on the start of transcription for the hopCB operon[2] indicate that hopC RNAs lie within the 5' untranslated region of this operon. The hopCB operon is induced to higher levels of expression in response to low pH.[2] This fits in with data that HopCB is involved in binding to human epithelial cells,[3] which is presumably something that the bacteria do during infection of the low-pH environment of the stomach.
Previous work suggested that a repeat of 13 thymidine nucleotides might be involved in regulating the abundance of the hopCB operon.[2] However, this 13-nucleotide region lies upstream of the transcription start site, and is therefore independent of hopC motif RNAs.
References
edit- ^ Weinberg Z, Wang JX, Bogue J, et al. (March 2010). "Comparative genomics reveals 104 candidate structured RNAs from bacteria, archaea and their metagenomes". Genome Biol. 11 (3): R31. doi:10.1186/gb-2010-11-3-r31. PMC 2864571. PMID 20230605.
- ^ a b c McGowan CC, Necheva AS, Forsyth MH, Cover TL, Blaser MJ (June 2003). "Promoter analysis of Helicobacter pylori genes with enhanced expression at low pH". Mol. Microbiol. 48 (5): 1225–1239. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2958.2003.03500.x. PMID 12787351. S2CID 28628324.
- ^ Odenbreit S, Faller G, Haas R (September 2002). "Role of the alpAB proteins and lipopolysaccharide in adhesion of Helicobacter pylori to human gastric tissue". Int. J. Med. Microbiol. 292 (3–4): 247–256. doi:10.1078/1438-4221-00204. PMID 12398215.
External links
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