title: Intracellular light-activation of riboswitch activity.
abstract: By combining a riboswitch with a cell-permeable photocaged small-molecule ligand, an optochemical gene control element was constructed that enabled spatial and temporal control of gene expression in bacterial cells. The simplicity of this strategy, coupled with the ability to create synthetic riboswitches with tailored ligand specificities and output in a variety of microorganisms, plants, and fungi might afford a general strategy to photocontrol gene expression in vivo. The ability to activate riboswitches by using light enables the interrogation and manipulation of a wide range of biological processes with high precision, and will have broad utility in the regulation of artificial genetic circuits.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, North Carolina State University, 2620 Yarbrough Drive, Raleigh, NC 27695-8204 (USA).
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gardner
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deiters
authors.forename: Gavin J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D002463:Cell Membrane Permeability; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D042541:Intracellular Space / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008024:Ligands; D015394:Molecular Structure; D058928:Riboswitch / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D013806:Theophylline / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D058928:Riboswitch; D013806:Theophylline
keywords: RNA; chemical biology; photocontrol; riboswitches; synthetic biology