Skip to main content
ISMPMI Congress 2025 Main banner
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.

Concurrent Session

Session: Concurrent Session: RNA on the move: Advances in Cross-Species Communication & Translational Research

Hfq-mediated delivery of extracellular sRNAs supports bacterial transcriptional coordination and plant immune system targeting

Tuesday, July 15, 2025
12:55 - 13:00  
Location: Room P+Q

Abstract Text:

A key virulence determinant of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf) is its secretion of extracellular vesicles (EVs), which mediate the switch from a biofilm to a planktonic lifestyle. We identified the conserved RNA chaperone Hfq as being associated with Xf-derived EVs. Xf Δhfq mutants exhibit reduced motility both in vitro and in planta, resulting in attenuated symptoms in infection assays with Nicotiana tabacum. Furthermore, RNA sequencing of Xf-EVs revealed a class of conserved, island-encoded small RNAs, termed sXFs. These sRNAs form a three stem-loop structure, one of which contains conserved Hfq-binding motifs. Target prediction analyses identified four NLRs in Arabidopsis thaliana as potential targets of sXFs. Notably, three of these NLRs are downregulated during Xf infection, with one also being repressed upon infiltration with Xf-EVs. Together, our findings highlight sXFs as potential virulence factors contributing to host immune modulation.