{
  "abstract": "Transfer RNA (tRNA) modifications influence decoding efficiency and translational fidelity, yet how they are integrated into bacterial signaling networks remains poorly understood. Here, we identify a direct connection between stress signaling and codon-specific translational regulation. We show that the alarmone guanosine tetraphosphate (ppGpp) directly inhibits MnmE (TrmE), a conserved tRNA-modification GTPase required for methylaminomethyl (mnm) modification of wobble uridine. High-resolution ribosome profiling in Bacillus subtilis revealed that loss of MnmE selectively increases ribosome pausing at AAG codons and reprograms translation of a subset of genes, including small open reading frames. Among these is a previously unrecognized AAG-containing leader peptide that controls expression of the biofilm repressor AbrB. Consistent with this mechanism, mnmE mutants exhibit constitutive extracellular matrix production and bypass the biofilm defect of a relA mutant. Together, these findings establish a pathway linking ppGpp signaling, tRNA modification, codon-specific translation, and multicellular development.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Bacteriology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USA.",
    "Independent researcher, Madison, WI, USA.",
    "Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA."
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 6,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Aude E. Trinquier",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1188-2005"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Franck Slama",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-6867-4584"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Junlang Liu",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-4106-2011"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lucille Pham"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Lauren Stolt"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jue D. Wang",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-1503-170X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/83jy3zpv38pt0.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1126/sciadv.aek6976",
  "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13733827/",
  "id": "83jy3zpv38pt0",
  "issns": [
    "2375-2548"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.aek6976",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "heading",
      "Biochemistry"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Biomedicine and Life Sciences"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Microbiology"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "Research Article"
    ],
    [
      "heading",
      "SciAdv r-articles"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": null,
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": "PMC13733827",
  "pmid": "42981386",
  "published": "2026-11-04",
  "publisher": "American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/83jy3zpv38pt0.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T00:20:34Z",
      "native_id": "10.1126/sciadv.aek6976",
      "source": "feed-science",
      "url": "https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/sciadv.aek6976"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-05T00:20:35Z",
      "native_id": "10.1126/sciadv.aek6976",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aek6976"
    },
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-11-08T12:23:32Z",
      "native_id": "PMC13733827",
      "source": "pmc",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aek6976"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "heading:Biochemistry",
      "subfield": "general"
    },
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "heading:Microbiology",
      "subfield": "microbiology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Direct regulation of a tRNA modification enzyme by ppGpp links stress signaling to translational control and biofilm development",
  "title_text": "Direct regulation of a tRNA modification enzyme by ppGpp links stress signaling to translational control and biofilm development",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-08T12:23:32Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/83jy3zpv38pt0",
  "venue": "Science Advances",
  "versions": []
}