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Advances in engineered trans-acting regulatory RNAs and their application in bacterial genome engineering

  • Metabolic Engineering and Synthetic Biology - Review
  • Published:
Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology

Abstract

Small noncoding RNAs, a large class of ancient posttranscriptional regulators, are increasingly recognized and utilized as key modulators of gene expression in a broad range of microorganisms. Owing to their small molecular size and the central role of Watson–Crick base pairing in defining their interactions, structure and function, numerous diverse types of trans-acting RNA regulators that are functional at the DNA, mRNA and protein levels have been experimentally characterized. It has become increasingly clear that most small RNAs play critical regulatory roles in many processes and are, therefore, considered to be powerful tools for genetic engineering and synthetic biology. The trans-acting regulatory RNAs accelerate this ability to establish potential framework for genetic engineering and genome-scale engineering, which allows RNA structure characterization, easier to design and model compared to DNA or protein-based systems. In this review, we summarize recent advances in engineered trans-acting regulatory RNAs that are used in bacterial genome-scale engineering and in novel cellular capabilities as well as their implementation in wide range of biotechnological, biological and medical applications.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Life Sciences, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, P. R. China

    Waqas Ahmed

  2. Department of Parasitology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Mian Abdul Hafeez

  3. Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    Mian Abdul Hafeez

  4. Department of Microbiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan

    Rais Ahmed

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  1. Waqas Ahmed
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Ahmed, W., Hafeez, M.A. & Ahmed, R. Advances in engineered trans-acting regulatory RNAs and their application in bacterial genome engineering. J Ind Microbiol Biotechnol 46, 819–830 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10295-019-02160-y

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