Transcriptional pausing coordinates folding of the aptamer domain and the expression platform of a riboswitch.

ABSTRACT: Riboswitches are cis-acting elements that regulate gene expression by affecting transcriptional termination or translational initiation in response to binding of a metabolite. A typical riboswitch is made of an upstream aptamer domain and a downstream expression platform. Both domains participate in the folding and structural rearrangement in the absence or presence of its cognate metabolite. RNA polymerase pausing is a fundamental property of transcription that can influence RNA folding. Here we show that pausing plays an important role in the folding and conformational rearrangement of the Escherichia coli btuB riboswitch during transcription by the E. coli RNA polymerase. This riboswitch consists of an approximately 200 nucleotide, coenzyme B12 binding aptamer domain and an approximatel

SUBMITTER: Perdrizet GA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3295289 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature