ABSTRACT: To study the regulatory outcome of Hfq-mediated sRNA-target interactions, we measured the change in gene expression following overexpression of each of five well-established sRNAs: GcvB, MicA, ArcZ, RyhB and CyaR. For each of the studied sRNAs we applied RNA-seq to two E. coli K-12 MG1655 strains: (1) a WT strain or a strain deleted of the sRNA gene; (2) a strain overexpressing the sRNA, either artificially from a plasmid or from the endogenous sRNA gene by changing the growth condition. For GcvB induction, the E. coli K-12 MG1655 Z1 gcvB::Cm, pZA12-gcvB and the E. coli K-12 MG1655 Z1 gcvB::Cm, pTP-011 strains were used. For MicA overexpression the E. coli K-12 MG1655lacIq pBRplac, pEF21-Hfq and the E. coli K-12 MG1655lacIq pMicA, pEF21-Hfq strains were used. For ArcZ induction the E. coli K-12 MG1655 Z1 arcZ::Cm, pZE12-ArcZ and the E. coli K-12 MG1655 Z1 arcZ::Cm, pJV300 strains were used. For RyhB overexpression the E. coli K-12 MG1655 ryhB::Cm and the E. coli K-12 MG1655 were used. For CyaR induction the E. coli K-12 MG1655 Z1 cyaR::Cm, pZE12-CyaR and the E. coli K-12 MG1655 Z1 cyaR::Cm, pJV300 strains were used. All E. coli strains used in this study were grown overnight in Luria Bertani (LB) medium at 37 °C with shaking (200 r.p.m.), diluted 100-fold in fresh LB medium, and re-grown with shaking at 37 °C to exponential phase, for GcvB (OD600 = 0.3) and for RyhB (OD600 = 0.5), or to stationary phase, for ArcZ WT, ArcZ M1, ArcZ M2 and CyaR (OD600 = 1.0) and for MicA (grown for 6 hr). For induction of ArcZ and GcvB, IPTG was added (1mM, 20 min). MicA was constitutively expressed and further induced at the end of growth with IPTG (1mM, 20 min). For induction of RyhB, the iron chelator 2,2'-Dipyridyl was added (200 μM, 30 min).
