Spatial organization and dynamics of RNase E and ribosomes in <i>Caulobacter crescentus</i>

Abstract

Significance Regulated gene expression involves accurate subcellular positioning and timing of RNA synthesis, degradation, processing, and translation. RNase E is an endoribonuclease that forms the scaffold of the RNA degradosome in bacteria, responsible for the majority of mRNA turnover and RNA processing. We used 3D superresolution microscopy and single-particle tracking to quantify the spatial distribution and dynamics of RNase E and ribosomes in the asymmetrically dividing bacterium Caulobacter crescentus . Our results show that active transcription and RNA substrate availability facilitate confinement and clustering of both RNase E and ribosomes. RNase E clusters colocalized with the subcellular position of the two Caulobacter rRNA gene chromosomal loci, indicating that RNA processing can be spatially organized in a bacterium according to its transcriptional profile.