The FlmA-FlmB toxin-antitoxin system consists of FlmB RNA (F leading-region maintenance B), a family of
non-coding RNA
A non-coding RNA (ncRNA) is a functional RNA molecule that is not Translation (genetics), translated into a protein. The DNA sequence from which a functional non-coding RNA is transcribed is often called an RNA gene. Abundant and functionally im ...
s and the
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...
toxin FlmA. The FlmB RNA transcript is 100
nucleotide
Nucleotides are organic molecules consisting of a nucleoside and a phosphate. They serve as monomeric units of the nucleic acid polymers – deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA), both of which are essential biomolecule ...
s in length and is homologous to sok RNA from the
hok/sok system The hok/sok system is a postsegregational killing mechanism employed by the R1 plasmid in ''Escherichia coli''. It was the first type I toxin-antitoxin pair to be identified through characterisation of a plasmid-stabilising locus. It is a type I ...
and fulfills the identical function as a post-segregational killing (PSK) mechanism.
flmB is found on the
F-plasmid
The fertility factor (first named F by one of its discoverers Esther Lederberg; also called the sex factor in '' E. coli'' or the F sex factor; also called F-plasmid) allows genes to be transferred from one bacterium carrying the factor to another ...
of ''
Escherichia coli
''Escherichia coli'' (),Wells, J. C. (2000) Longman Pronunciation Dictionary. Harlow ngland Pearson Education Ltd. also known as ''E. coli'' (), is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus '' Esc ...
'' and ''
Salmonella enterica
''Salmonella enterica'' (formerly ''Salmonella choleraesuis'') is a rod-headed, flagellate, facultative anaerobic, Gram-negative bacterium and a species of the genus ''Salmonella''. A number of its serovars are serious human pathogens.
Epidemi ...
''. It is responsible for stabilising the plasmid. If the plasmid is not
inherited, long-lived FlmA
mRNA
In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein.
mRNA is created during the ...
and protein will be highly
toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...
to the cell, possibly to the point of causing
cell death
Cell death is the event of a biological cell ceasing to carry out its functions. This may be the result of the natural process of old cells dying and being replaced by new ones, as in programmed cell death, or may result from factors such as d ...
.
Daughter cells which inherit the
plasmid inherit the ''FlmB''
gene
In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...
, coding for FlmB RNA which binds the
leader sequence of FlmA mRNA and represses its
translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...
.
See also
*
Toxin-antitoxin system
A toxin-antitoxin system is a set of two or more closely linked genes that together encode both a "toxin" protein and a corresponding "antitoxin". Toxin-antitoxin systems are widely distributed in prokaryotes, and organisms often have them in mult ...
*
IstR RNA
*
RdlD RNA
*
Sib RNA
*
SymR RNA
*
ptaRNA1
References
Further reading
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{{refend
Antisense RNA
RNA antitoxins