Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Ave., MSB-393, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Curr Opin Struct Biol. 2012 Jun;22(3):279-86. doi: 10.1016/j.sbi.2012.04.005. Epub 2012 May 12.
Regulatory mRNAs elements termed riboswitches respond to elevated concentrations of cellular metabolites by modulating expression of associated genes. Riboswitches attain their high metabolite selectivity by capitalizing on the intrinsic tertiary structures of their sensor domains. Over the years, riboswitch structure and folding have been amongst the most researched topics in the RNA field. Most recently, novel structures of single-ligand and cooperative double-ligand sensors have broadened our knowledge of architectural and molecular recognition principles exploited by riboswitches. The structural information has been complemented by extensive folding studies, which have provided several important clues on the formation of ligand-competent conformations and mechanisms of ligand discrimination. These studies have greatly improved our understanding of molecular events in riboswitch-mediated gene expression control and provided the molecular basis for intervention into riboswitch-controlled genetic circuits.
调控 mRNA 元件，称为核糖开关，通过调节相关基因的表达来响应细胞代谢物浓度的升高。核糖开关通过利用其传感器结构域的内在三级结构来实现高代谢物选择性。多年来，核糖开关的结构和折叠一直是 RNA 领域研究最多的课题之一。最近，单配体和协同双配体传感器的新型结构拓宽了我们对核糖开关利用的结构和分子识别原理的认识。结构信息得到了广泛折叠研究的补充，这些研究提供了关于配体竞争构象形成和配体识别机制的几个重要线索。这些研究极大地提高了我们对核糖开关介导的基因表达控制中分子事件的理解，并为干预核糖开关控制的遗传回路提供了分子基础。
