RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 arfA antisense RNA regulates MscL excretory activity JF Life Science Alliance JO Life Sci. Alliance FD Life Science Alliance LLC SP e202301954 DO 10.26508/lsa.202301954 VO 6 IS 6 A1 Morra, Rosa A1 Pratama, Fenryco A1 Butterfield, Thomas A1 Tomazetto, Geizecler A1 Young, Kate A1 Lopez, Ruth A1 Dixon, Neil YR 2023 UL http://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/6/6/e202301954.abstract AB Excretion of cytoplasmic protein (ECP) is a commonly observed phenomenon in bacteria, and this partial extracellular localisation of the intracellular proteome has been implicated in a variety of stress response mechanisms. In response to hypoosmotic shock and ribosome stalling in Escherichia coli, ECP is dependent upon the presence of the large-conductance mechanosensitive channel and the alternative ribosome–rescue factor A gene products. However, it is not known if a mechanistic link exists between the corresponding genes and the respective stress response pathways. Here, we report that the corresponding mscL and arfA genes are commonly co-located on the genomes of Gammaproteobacteria and display overlap in their respective 3′ UTR and 3′ CDS. We show this unusual genomic arrangement permits an antisense RNA–mediated regulatory control between mscL and arfA, and this modulates MscL excretory activity in E. coli. These findings highlight a mechanistic link between osmotic, translational stress responses and ECP in E. coli, further elucidating the previously unknown regulatory function of arfA sRNA.