TITLE:
Posttranscriptional Control of Gene Expression and Role of Small RNAs in Streptococcus mutans
AUTHORS:
Jarosław E. Król
KEYWORDS:
Dental Carries, Gene Regulation, Antisense Therapy
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Microbiology,
Vol.8 No.2,
February
28,
2018
ABSTRACT: Streptococcus mutansis a key contributor to the formation of biofilms associated with dental caries disease. Living in the oral environment and developing of disease require tight gene regulation. In bacteria, gene expression is most commonly regulated at the level of transcription initiation. This control involved interactions of specific DNA sequences with regulatory proteins. A second mechanism of control of gene expression is mediated at the RNA level by several mechanisms and is generally called posttranscriptional regulation. These mechanisms include cis- and trans-acting small, non-coding RNAs, RNA-binding proteins, riboswitches, thermosensors, RNases, and Type I toxin-antitoxin systems, and may result in changes in RNA stability, efficiency of ribosome binding, translation initiation, and transcript secondary structures. Here I review the posttranscriptional regulation in S. mutans.