Tuning strand displacement kinetics enables programmable ZTP riboswitch dynamic range in vivo.

ABSTRACT: A large body of work has shown that transcriptional riboswitches function through internal strand displacement mechanisms that guide the formation of alternative structures which drive regulatory outcomes. Here, we sought to investigate this phenomenon using the Clostridium beijerinckii pfl ZTP riboswitch as a model system. Using functional mutagenesis with Escherichia coli gene expression assays, we show that mutations designed to slow strand displacement of the expression platform enable precise tuning of riboswitch dynamic range (2.4-34-fold), depending on the type of kinetic barrier introduced, and the position of the barrier relative to the strand displacement nucleation site. We also show that expression platforms from a range of different Clostridium ZTP riboswitches contain sequenc

SUBMITTER: Bushhouse DZ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10085676 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature