Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230027, China.
GMU-GIBH Joint School of Life Sciences, The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Joint Laboratory for Cell Fate Regulation and Diseases,Guangzhou National Laboratory, Medical University, Guangzhou 510180, China.
Nucleic Acids Res. 2024 Jan 5;52(D1):D265-D272. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkad891.
Riboswitches are regulatory elements found in the untranslated regions (UTRs) of certain mRNA molecules. They typically comprise two distinct domains: an aptamer domain that can bind to specific small molecules, and an expression platform that controls gene expression. Riboswitches work by undergoing a conformational change upon binding to their specific ligand, thus activating or repressing the genes downstream. This mechanism allows gene expression regulation in response to metabolites or small molecules. To systematically summarise riboswitch structures and their related ligand binding functions, we present Ribocentre-switch, a comprehensive database of riboswitches, including the information as follows: sequences, structures, functions, ligand binding pockets and biological applications. It encompasses 56 riboswitches and 26 orphan riboswitches from over 430 references, with a total of 89 591 sequences. It serves as a good resource for comparing different riboswitches and facilitating the identification of potential riboswitch candidates. Therefore, it may facilitate the understanding of RNA structural conformational changes in response to ligand signaling. The database is publicly available at https://riboswitch.ribocentre.org.
Riboswitches 是在某些 mRNA 分子的非翻译区 (UTR) 中发现的调节元件。它们通常包含两个不同的结构域：一个适体结构域，能够结合特定的小分子，和一个表达平台，控制基因表达。Riboswitches 通过与特定配体结合后发生构象变化来发挥作用，从而激活或抑制下游基因。这种机制允许基因表达根据代谢物或小分子进行调节。为了系统地总结 riboswitch 的结构及其相关配体结合功能，我们展示了 Ribocentre-switch，这是一个综合性的 riboswitch 数据库，包括以下信息：序列、结构、功能、配体结合口袋和生物应用。它包含了 56 个 riboswitch 和 26 个孤儿 riboswitch，来自超过 430 篇参考文献，总共 89591 个序列。它是比较不同 riboswitch 和识别潜在 riboswitch 候选者的良好资源。因此，它可以促进对 RNA 结构构象变化响应配体信号的理解。该数据库可在 https://riboswitch.ribocentre.org 上公开获取。
