| RivX | |
|---|---|
| Predicted secondary structure of RivX sRNA | |
| Identifiers | |
| Symbol | RivX |
| Other data | |
| RNA type | sRNA |
| Domain(s) | Streptococcus pyogenes |
RivX sRNA is a non-coding RNA molecule involved in the interface between two key regulators of virulence in the human pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes (Group A Streptoccus, also known as GAS): the CovR/S system[1] and Mga regulator.[2] This RNA, along with its downstream protein-coding gene RivR, are the first discovered links between these two important regulation networks.[2] An extra protein linking the two pathways, TrxR, was described a year later.[3] The adjoining of these two pathways could allow a consistently high virulence of S. pyogenes despite a variety of environmental conditions.[2]
RivX is thought to be co-transcribed with RivR mRNA before post-transcriptional processing releases the sRNA. It was found to be a non-coding transcript through site-directed mutagenesis experimentation.[2]
In total, the GAS genome is now predicted to encode 75 total sRNAs, a number approximately equal to the number of transcription factors encoded by the genome, which shows the importance of RNA regulation in GAS.[4]