The team of Chenggang HU has resolved, via mRNA sequencing, the stoichometry of this multienzyme complex which degrades cellulose to monosaccharides. They found that at least five post-transcriptional processed sites located in the intergenic regions of the cip-cel operon are specifically recognized by endonucleases, resulting in cleavage of the primary transcript into at least six secondary transcripts. Stability of these secondary transcripts varied widely due to their distinct terminal stem-loop structures, which quantitatively determine the observed stoichiometry.

CAS news release, April 27, 2015