Chapter 26, Problem 12P

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

Riboswitches are generally considered to have been discovered in about 2002. But a comparable regulatory process was described much earlier when Nomura et.al. Described the regulation of ribosomal protein synthesis carried out by binding of ribosomal proteins to their own mRNAs. Was the riboswitch actually discovered years earlier? Discuss similarities and differences in control of ribosomal protein synthesis and riboswitch regulation.

Concept Introduction:

Riboswitches are autoregulatory segments present in the mRNA that binds to specific molecules mainly the respective mRNA protein and control the protein synthesis from mRNA on which it resides. Riboswitches contain two regions aptamer and response platform upstream of the promoter of mRNA. The following diagram shows that binding of a small molecule to an aptamer, cause changes in response platform and make promoter unavailable for transcription.