RNase E Enzymes from <i>Rhodobacter capsulatus</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i> Differ in Context- and Sequence-Dependent In Vivo Cleavage within the Polycistronic <i>puf</i> mRNA

Abstract

The 5' pufQ mRNA segment and the pufLMX mRNA segment of Rhodobacter capsulatus exhibit different stabilities. Degradation of both mRNA segments is initiated by RNase E-mediated endonucleolytic cleavage. While Rhodobacter RNase E does not discriminate between the different sequences present around the cleavage sites within pufQ and pufL, Escherichia coli RNase E shows preference for the sequence harboring more A and U residues.