The MicC non-coding RNA

Non-coding RNA

A non-coding RNA is a functional RNA molecule that is not translated into a protein. Less-frequently used synonyms are non-protein-coding RNA , non-messenger RNA and functional RNA . The term small RNA is often used for short bacterial ncRNAs...

 (previously known as IS063 ) is located between the ompN and ydbK gene

Gene

A gene is a molecular unit of heredity of a living organism. It is a name given to some stretches of DNA and RNA that code for a type of protein or for an RNA chain that has a function in the organism. Living beings depend on genes, as they specify all proteins and functional RNA chains...

s in E. coli. This RNA is thought to be a regulator of the expression level of the OmpC porin

Porin (protein)

Porins are beta barrel proteins that cross a cellular membrane and act as a pore through which molecules can diffuse. Unlike other membrane transport proteins, porins are large enough to allow passive diffusion, i.e., they act as channels that are specific to different types of molecules...

 protein, with a 5' region of 22 nucleotides potentially forming an antisense interaction with the ompC mRNA. Along with MicF RNA

MicF RNA

The micF RNA is a non-coding RNA stress response gene found in Escherichia coli and related bacteria that post-transcriptionally controls expression of the outer membrane porin gene ompF. The micF gene encodes a non-translated 93 nucleotide antisense RNA that binds its target ompF mRNA and...

 this family may act in conjunction with EnvZ-OmpR two-component system to control the OmpF/OmpC protein ratio in response to a variety of environmental stimuli .