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Team:IBB Pune/nucleic-acid-based-signalling
From 2009.igem.org
Riboswitches
A riboswitch is a part of an mRNA molecule that can directly bind a small target molecule, and whose binding of the target affects the gene's activity. Thus, an mRNA that contains a riboswitch is directly involved in regulating its own activity, depending on the presence or absence of its target molecule.
They are metabolite-binding domains within certain messenger RNAs that act as precision sensors for their corresponding targets. Allosteric rearrangement of mRNA structure is mediated by ligand binding, and this results in modulation of gene expression.
