The Vc2 cyclic di-GMP dependent riboswitch ofVibrio choleraeregulates expression of an upstream small RNA by controlling RNA stability
SUMMARYCyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) is a bacterial second messenger molecule that is important in the biology ofVibrio cholerae, but the molecular mechanisms by which this molecule regulates downstream phenotypes have not been fully characterized. We have previously shown that the Vc2 c-di-GMP-binding riboswitch, encoded upstream of the genetfoY, functions as an off-switch in response to c-di-GMP. However, the mechanism by which c-di-GMP controls expression oftfoYhas not been fully elucidated. During our studies of this mechanism, we determined that c-di-GMP binding to Vc2 also controls the abundance and stability of upstream non-coding small RNAs (sRNA) with 3’-ends located immediately downstream of the Vc2 riboswitch. Our results suggest these sRNAs are not generated by transcriptional termination but rather by preventing degradation of the upstream untranslated RNA when c-di-GMP is bound to Vc2.IMPORTANCERiboswitches are typically RNA elements located in the 5’ untranslated region of mRNAs. They are highly structured and specifically recognize and respond to a given chemical cue to alter transcription termination or the translation initiation. In this work, we report a novel mechanism of riboswitch mediated gene regulation inVibrio choleraewhereby a 3’ riboswitch, named Vc2, controls the stability of upstream untranslated RNA upon binding to its cognate ligand, the second messenger cyclic di-GMP, leading to the accumulation of previously undescribed sRNAs. We further demonstrate that binding of the ligand to the riboswitch prevents RNA degradation. As binding of riboswitches to their ligands often produces compactly structure RNA, we hypothesize this mechanism of gene regulation could be widespread.