title: Modularity of select riboswitch expression platforms enables facile engineering of novel genetic regulatory devices.
abstract: RNA-based biosensors and regulatory devices have received significant attention for their potential in a broad array of synthetic biology applications. One of the primary difficulties in engineering these molecules is the lack of facile methods to link sensory modules, or aptamers, to readout domains. Such efforts typically require extensive screening or selection of sequences that facilitate interdomain communication. Bacteria have evolved a widespread form of gene regulation known as riboswitches that perform this task with sufficient fidelity to control expression of biosynthetic and transport proteins essential for normal cellular homeostasis. In this work, we demonstrate that select riboswitch readout domains, called expression platforms, are modular in that they can host a variety of natural and synthetic aptamers to create novel chimeric RNAs that regulate transcription both in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, this technique does not require selection of device-specific "communication modules" required to transmit ligand binding to the regulatory domain, enabling rapid engineering of novel functional RNAs.
authors: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Colorado at Boulder, Campus Box 596, Boulder, CO 80309-0596, USA.
authors: Pablo
authors: P
authors: Ceres
authors: Andrew D
authors: AD
authors: Garst
authors: Joan G
authors: JG
authors: Marcano-Velázquez
authors: Robert T
authors: RT
authors: Batey
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000235:genetics*; D053263:Gene Regulatory Networks / Q000235:genetics*; D005818:Genetic Engineering / Q000379:methods*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D058928:Riboswitch / Q000235:genetics*; D058615:Synthetic Biology / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D058928:Riboswitch
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