The conserved 3’ UTR-derived small RNA NarS counteracts the risk of toxic nitric oxide accumulation during nitrate respiration

In pursuit of a biological role of Salmonella 3' UTR derived sRNA NarS, we sought to determine potential target mRNAs of NarS under anaerobic conditions. To this end, we compared gene expression in NarS-deficient and NarS overexpression (from plasmid pPL-NarS) strains following a 30-minute anaerobic shock by RNA-seq. Total RNA of Salmonella NarS-deficient strain (ΔnarK ΔNarS) carrying either empty plasmid pJV300 or NarS-overexpressed plasmid pPL-NarS were compared.