In plants, certain parts of the cell—like chloroplasts and mitochondria—rely on a molecular machine called the editosome to fine-tune their genetic messages. This process, known as RNA editing, helps ensure that cells produce functional proteins from these messages.
In a new study published in Nucleic Acids Research, researchers Jose Lombana, Maureen Hanson, and Stéphane Bentolila used a simple bacterial system (Escherichia coli) to study how this plant-specific editosome works. By reconstituting the system in E. coli, they were able to dissect the roles of several key proteins involved in editing plant RNA.
At the heart of the bacterial system is a specialized RNA-binding protein known as a PPR protein. The study revealed that this protein works together with ORRM1 and either RIP2 or RIP9 to correct RNA sequences with an impressive ~80% efficiency. This finding highlights the essential roles of ORRM1 and the RIP proteins in the editing machinery.
Understanding how the editosome functions could one day allow scientists to fix faulty RNA messages—not just in plants, but potentially in other living cells as well. By using model systems like E. coli, researchers are uncovering new possibilities for precise RNA editing, with potential applications in agriculture, biotechnology, and even human health.
The research team’s work garnered additional recognition when Lombana’s scientific illustration was selected as the cover art for Nucleic Acids Research. His striking design, which beautifully illustrates the RNA editosome, was chosen by the journal to represent their issue.
Lombana explains his artistic approach:
“The cover image symbolizes the mechanistic reconstruction of chloroplast RNA editing in E. coli using a synthetic PPR-PLS protein. The design emphasizes the collaborative role of accessory proteins in this heterologous context, mirroring the functional dynamics of plant editosomes. This visualization bridges synthetic biology and plant molecular genetics to uncover the principles of RNA editing.”
