FIG 4.

The stability of the small regulatory RNA Bsr4 is impacted by RNase E and Hfq in B. abortus. (A) Schematic representation of the bsr4 locus in B. abortus 2308. The gene locations are depicted using both BAB and BAB_RS locus tag identifiers, and bsr4 is denoted. The predicted functions of the products of the genes flanking bsr4 are also shown. (B) Northern blot analysis of Bsr4 in the rne truncation strain. RNA as isolated from B. abortus 2308, rne-tnc, or rne-RC. The RNAs were probed by Northern blotting analysis for levels of Bsr4 (upper panel) or AbcR (lower panel). (C) Northern blot analysis of Bsr4 in the absence of hfq. RNA as isolated from B. abortus 2308, rne-tnc, hfq, or rne-tnc/hfq, and the RNAs were probed by Northern blotting analysis for levels of Bsr4 (upper panel) or 5S rRNA (lower panel).