A small RNA and its involvement in zinc transport

The function and mode of action of small regulatory RNAs is currently still understudied in archaea. In the halophilic archaeon H. volcanii a plethora of sRNAs have been identified, however, in-depth functional analysis is missing for most of them. We selected a small RNA (s479) from H. volcanii for detailed characterization. The sRNA gene is encoded between a CRISPR RNA locus and the Cas protein gene cluster, the s479 deletion strain is viable and was characterized in detail. Transcriptome studies of wild type Haloferax cells and the deletion mutant revealed up-regulation of six genes in the deletion strain, showing that the sRNA has a distinct cellular function. Proteome comparison of wild type and deletion strains further expanded the regulon of s479 deeply rooting this sRNA within the metabolism of H. volcanii especially the regulation of transporter abundance.