Functional analysis of thiamine pyrophosphate-responsive riboswitches in human bacterial pathogens of the ESKAPE group using a dual-luciferase reporter gene assay.

ABSTRACT: Thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP)-responsive riboswitches are genetic elements in bacteria that regulate the expression of genes coding for proteins involved in the biosynthesis and transport of thiamine (vitamin B₁). Following uptake, cytoplasmic thiamine is converted to TPP, which serves as a cofactor for enzymes of central metabolic pathways such as glycolysis, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and the pentose phosphate pathway, and it is the level of TPP (and not thiamine) that is sensed by TPP riboswitches. TPP riboswitches are the most widespread riboswitches in bacteria. Their key roles in metabolism combined with their absence in humans make them potential targets for antibiotics, whereby the focus of the present study was pathogenic bacteria of the ESKAPE group: Enterococcus

SUBMITTER: Hubenthal A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12632268 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature