ReviewThe importance of regulatory RNAs in Staphylococcus aureus

- Regulatory RNAs are at the center of regulatory circuits in Staphylococcus aureus.
- Small RNAs control metabolism, stress response and virulence.
- Ribonucleases act as possible co-factors of sRNAs.
- Deciphering sRNA regulatory pathways opens new avenues to fight S. aureus diseases.

RNA molecules with regulatory functions in pathogenic bacteria have benefited from a renewed interest these two last decades. In Staphylococcus aureus, recent genome-wide approaches have led to the discovery that almost 10-20% of genes code for RNAs with critical regulatory roles in adaptive processes. These RNAs include trans-acting RNAs, which mostly act through binding to target mRNAs, and cis-acting RNAs, which include regulatory regions of mRNAs responding to various metabolic signals. Besides recent analysis of S. aureus transcriptome has revealed an unprecedented existence of pervasive transcription generating a high number of weakly expressed antisense RNAs along the genome as well as numerous mRNAs with overlapped regions. Here, we will illustrate the diversity of trans-acting RNAs and illustrate how they are integrated into complex regulatory circuits, which link metabolism, stress response and virulence.