The expression of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) has been observed in a variety of bacteria. However, the function of ncRNAs and their regulatory targets are largely unknown, and few ncRNAs are found to be associated with bacterial virulence. The bacterial brown stripe pathogen Acidovorax oryzae (Ao) RS-1 shows a high level of condition-dependent differential expression of ncRNA, which we identified in a genome wide screen. We experimentally validated 66 differentially expressed ncRNAs using an integrative analysis of conservative genome sequences and transcriptomic data during in vivo interaction of the bacterial pathogen with the rice plant. To test the relevance of the differentially expressed ncRNAs, we chose four with different positions within the genome, and with different secondary structures and promoter activities. The results show that the overexpression of the four ncRNAs caused a significant change in virulence-related phenotypes, resistance to various environmental stresses, expression of secretion systems and effector proteins, while changing the expression of ncRNA putative target genes. We conclude that these ncRNAs are examples for the inherent regulatory roles for many of the observed ncRNAs in response to changing conditions such as host interaction or environmental adaption.

中文翻译：

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稻瘟病菌侵染水稻过程中非编码RNA的参与

已在多种细菌中观察到非编码 RNA (ncRNA) 的表达。然而，ncRNA 的功能及其调控靶点在很大程度上是未知的，很少有 ncRNA 被发现与细菌毒力有关。细菌棕色条纹病原体Acidovorax oryzae (Ao) RS-1 显示出高水平的条件依赖性 ncRNA 差异表达，我们在全基因组筛选中发现了这种差异。我们通过对体内保守基因组序列和转录组数据的综合分析，对 66 种差异表达的 ncRNA 进行了实验验证细菌病原体与水稻植物的相互作用。为了测试差异表达的 ncRNA 的相关性，我们选择了四个在基因组内具有不同位置、具有不同二级结构和启动子活性的。结果表明，四种 ncRNA 的过表达导致毒力相关表型、对各种环境胁迫的抗性、分泌系统和效应蛋白的表达发生显着变化，同时改变了 ncRNA 推定靶基因的表达。我们得出结论，这些 ncRNA 是许多观察到的 ncRNA 响应不断变化的条件（如宿主相互作用或环境适应）的内在调节作用的例子。