A ribosomal protein homolog modulates gene expression and virulence in a bacterial pathogen

To assess which F. tularensis LVS transcripts are impacted by loss of bS21-2, we generated cells lacking the gene encoding bS21-2 (LVS ∆rpsU2). We then grew wild-type cells containing an empty vector (LVS pF), cells lacking bS21-2 with empty vector (LVS ∆rpsU2 pF), and cells lacking the native bS21-2 but ectopically expressing bS21-2 from a plasmid (LVS ∆rpsU2 pF-rpsU2-V). We isolated RNA from mid-log phase cells and analyzed by RNA-Seq. Comparative gene expression profiling analysis of RNA-Seq data for wild-type F. tularensis LVS with empty vector (WT pF), cells lacking bS21-2 with empty vector (LVS ∆rpsU2 pF), and LVS ∆rpsU2 ectopically expressing bS21-2 (LVS ∆rpsU2 pF-rpsU2-V)