title: Biophysical Approaches to Bacterial Gene Regulation by Riboswitches.
abstract: The last decade has witnessed the discovery of a variety of non-coding RNA sequences that perform a broad range of crucial biological functions. Among these, the ability of certain RNA sequences, so-called riboswitches, has attracted considerable interest. Riboswitches control gene expression in response to the concentration of particular metabolites to which they bind without the need for any protein. These RNA switches not only need to adopt a very specific tridimensional structure to perform their function, but also their sequence has been evolutionary optimized to recognize a particular metabolite with high affinity and selectivity. Thus, riboswitches offer a unique opportunity to get fundamental insights into RNA plasticity and how folding dynamics and ligand recognition mechanisms have been efficiently merged to control gene regulation. Because riboswitch sequences have been mostly found in bacterial organisms controlling the expression of genes associated to the synthesis, degradation or transport of crucial metabolites for bacterial survival, they offer exciting new routes for antibiotic development in an era where bacterial resistance is more than ever challenging conventional drug discovery strategies. Here, we give an overview of the architecture, diversity and regulatory mechanisms employed by riboswitches with particular emphasis on the biophysical methods currently available to characterise their structure and functional dynamics.
authors.affiliation: SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9SS, UK.
authors.forename: Cibran
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perez-Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, RNA Group, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada.
authors.forename: Jonathan P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Grondin
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, RNA Group, Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, J1K 2R1, Canada. Daniel.Lafontaine@USherbrooke.ca.
authors.forename: Daniel A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Lafontaine
authors.affiliation: SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9SS, UK. jcp10@st-andrews.ac.uk.|Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9ST, UK. jcp10@st-andrews.ac.uk.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carlos Penedo
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001419:Bacteria / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects; D008024:Ligands; D057054:Molecular Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009690:Nucleic Acid Conformation; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D058928:Riboswitch / Q000235:genetics*; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D008024:Ligands; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D058928:Riboswitch
keywords: Antibiotic resistance; Bacterial pathogens; Gene regulation; Metabolite sensing; Non-coding RNA; RNA aptamers