Nature Microbiology · 14 authors, 9 centres
This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.
This study develops a 5PSeq method to analyze mRNA decay intermediates across 96 bacterial species and complex microbiomes. It demonstrates that co-translational mRNA degradation is widespread and that the method can detect species-specific post-transcriptional responses to stress and drug treatments.
The study introduces and applies an optimized 5PSeq (5'P degradome sequencing) method to characterize mRNA translation and decay intermediates. The method was used on 96 bacterial species, including model organisms and complex microbiome samples. Key findings include the conservation of cotranslational mRNA degradation, the demonstration that the exoribonuclease RNase J in certain species produces a ribosome toeprint, and that ribosome positioning alters decay in species lacking 5'-3' exonucleases. The approach detected rapid, codon-specific ribosome stalling responses to stress and drugs within 5 minutes, independent of changes in mRNA abundance. The implications are the creation of a bacterial degradome atlas and a tool for studying posttranscriptional regulation in unculturable species and complex communities.
