RNase R is associated in a functional complex with the RhpA DEAD-box RNA helicase in Helicobacter pylori

Ribonucleases (RNases) are central actors in post-transcriptional regulation, a major level of regulation of gene expression in all cells. This control plays an important role in the bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori, although only the function of RNase J was characterized so far. Here, we studied the RNase R enzyme from H. pylori, a 3’-5’ exoribonuclease whose ortholog in Escherichia coli was reported to display, in addition, helicase activity and to be able to hydrolyze RNA substrates with double stranded structures. We observed that HpRNase R protein does not carry the domains responsible for helicase activity in E. coli and accordingly that the purified protein is unable to degrade in vitro RNA molecules with secondary structures. The RNase R helicase domain loss is widespread among the Campylobacterota and occurred gradually during their evolution. Furthermore, an in vivo interaction between HpRNase R and RhpA, the sole DEAD-box RNA helicase of H. pylori, was discovered. Phylogenomics suggests that this interaction might occur in other bacteria of the phylum Campylobacterota. Purified RhpA facilitates the degradation of double stranded RNA substrates by HpRNase R, showing that this complex is functional. HpRNase R has a minor role of in 5S rRNA maturation and, as shown by RNA-Seq, few targets in H. pylori all of them being included in the RhpA regulon. In conclusion, we describe a new type of RNase R that lacks some of the features that were considered as hallmarks of RNase R proteins, but that has co-opted another RNA helicase, which we hypothesize helps it accomplish some of its functions in vivo.