Identification and function of regulatory RNA in the phototropic model organism Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

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Non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) serve as sequence-specific regulators of gene expression in all domains of life. In the previous funding period we have unraveled the nearly complete set of ncRNAs and antisense RNAs in the model cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in a comprehensive and systematical way using a combination of transcriptome sequencing, detailed microarray analysis, computational prediction of ncRNA genes, complemented by extensive Northern and 5’ TAP-RACE experiments. These analyses demonstrated the presence of several hundred such loci giving rise to potentially regulatory RNA molecules. We performed knock-out mutations of genes for several of the most promising ncRNA genes and proteins with key functions in the metabolism of RNA (RNase III, RNase E/G, Hfq), developing Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 into a true model for the analysis of regulatory RNAs in cyanobacteria. In the new funding period we will shift our focus on the functional analysis of several selected ncRNAs, plasmid-encoded CRISPR-RNAs, the cyanobacterial Hfq homologue and RNA degradation pathways.