Global Maps of ProQ Binding In Vivo Reveal Target Recognition via RNA Structure and Stability Control at mRNA 3′ Ends

The conserved RNA-binding protein ProQ has emerged as the centerpiece of a previously unknown third large network of post-transcriptional control in enterobacteria. Here, we have used in vivo UV crosslinking and RNA sequencing (CLIP-seq) to map hundreds of ProQ binding sites in Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli. Our analysis of these binding sites, many of which are conserved, suggests that ProQ recognizes its cellular targets through RNA structural motifs found in small RNAs (sRNAs) and at the 3′ end of mRNAs. Using the cspE mRNA as a model for 3′ end targeting, we reveal a function for ProQ in protecting mRNA against exoribonucleolytic activity. Taken together, our results underpin the notion that ProQ governs a post-transcriptional network distinct from those of the well-characterized sRNA-binding proteins, CsrA and Hfq, and suggest a previously unrecognized, sRNA-independent role of ProQ in stabilizing mRNAs. Using CLIP-seq, Holmqvist et al. map transcriptome-wide interactions of the emerging global RNA-binding protein ProQ in Salmonella and E. coli. Their data suggest ProQ to target sRNAs and mRNA 3′ UTRs primarily through a structural code and to stabilize some mRNAs by counteracting 3′ exoribonuclease activity.