Novel riboswitch ligand analogs as selective inhibitors of guanine-related metabolic pathways.

ABSTRACT: Riboswitches are regulatory elements modulating gene expression in response to specific metabolite binding. It has been recently reported that riboswitch agonists may exhibit antimicrobial properties by binding to the riboswitch domain. Guanine riboswitches are involved in the regulation of transport and biosynthesis of purine metabolites, which are critical for the nucleotides cellular pool. Upon guanine binding, these riboswitches stabilize a 5'-untranslated mRNA structure that causes transcription attenuation of the downstream open reading frame. In principle, any agonistic compound targeting a guanine riboswitch could cause gene repression even when the cell is starved for guanine. Antibiotics binding to riboswitches provide novel antimicrobial compounds that can be rationally designed

SUBMITTER: Mulhbacher J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2858708 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature