Stormo Gary D
Department of Genetics, Washington University School of Medicine, 660 S. Euclid, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Mol Cell. 2003 Jun;11(6):1419-20. doi: 10.1016/s1097-2765(03)00240-5.
Riboswitches are mRNAs that can act as direct sensors of small molecules to control their own expression. In the May 30, 2003, issue of Cell, Mandal et al. show that cis elements in mRNAs involved in purine metabolism measure the effector molecule concentration with sensitivity and specificity, and control expression of adjacent genes. Analysis of several recently discovered riboswitches suggests that this may be a common, efficient mechanism for regulating the synthesis of proteins required for the production of important metabolites.
核糖开关是一类mRNA,可作为小分子的直接传感器来控制自身的表达。在2003年5月30日的《细胞》杂志上,曼达尔等人表明,参与嘌呤代谢的mRNA中的顺式元件能够灵敏且特异地测量效应分子的浓度,并控制相邻基因的表达。对最近发现的几种核糖开关的分析表明,这可能是一种调节重要代谢产物合成所需蛋白质合成的常见且有效的机制。