The omnigenic/polygenic theory, which states that complex traits are not shaped by single/few genes, but by situation-specific large networks, offers an explanation for a major enigma in microbiology: deletion of specific small RNAs (sRNAs) playing key roles in various aspects of bacterial physiology, including virulence and antibiotic resistance, results in surprisingly subtle phenotypes. A recent study uncovered polar accumulation of most sRNAs upon osmotic stress, the majority not known to be involved in the applied stress. Here we show that cells deleted for a handful of pole-enriched sRNAs exhibit fitness defect in several stress conditions, as opposed to single, double, or triple sRNA-knockouts, implying that regulation by sRNA relies on sets of genes. Moreover, analysis of RNA-seq data of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium exposed to antibiotics and/or infection-relevant conditions reveals the involvement of multiple sRNAs in all cases, in line with the existence of a polygenic plan for sRNA-mediated regulation.

全基因/多基因理论指出，复杂性状不是由单个/少数基因塑造的，而是由特定情况的大型网络塑造的，它为微生物学中的一个主要谜团提供了解释：特定小RNA（sRNA）的缺失在细菌生理学的各个方面，包括毒力和抗生素耐药性，都会导致令人惊讶的微妙表型。最近的一项研究发现，大多数 sRNA 在渗透胁迫下会发生极性积累，但大多数 sRNA 与施加的胁迫无关。在这里，我们发现，与单、双或三重 sRNA 敲除相反，删除少量极富集 sRNA 的细胞在多种应激条件下表现出适应性缺陷，这意味着 sRNA 的调节依赖于基因组。此外，对暴露于抗生素和/或感染相关条件的大肠杆菌和鼠伤寒沙门氏菌的RNA-seq数据的分析揭示了所有病例中多种sRNA的参与，这与sRNA介导的调节的多基因计划的存在一致。