Chapter category: RNA
Allosteric Ribozymes As Molecular Sensors and Genetic Regulatory Switches
Nucleic Acid Switches and Sensors
Edited by: Scott K. SilvermanISBN: 0-387-37491-4
» Get more information about this book at landesbioscience.com «
Chapter authors:
Garrett A. Soukup
Since the discovery of RNA catalysts, biotechnology has focused heavily on utilizing ribozymes as reagents to control RNA processing and gene expression. However, ribozymes can also be manipulated to report events that affect their folding and catalysis. As with protein enzymes, ribozyme activity is dependent upon the ability of the biopolymer to form secondary and tertiary structures that establish the active conformation. Molecular engineering efforts have exploited the structure-function relationship of RNA catalysts to create novel allosteric ribozymes whose activities are modulated by the binding of specific effector molecules. Such efforts are facilitated by the diversity of RNA-ligand interactions, the general predictability of nucleic acid folding, and the relative ease of in vitro RNA synthesis and manipulation. Engineered allosteric ribozymes are inherently molecular sensors for their cognate ligands, and they function as molecular switches regulated by ligand interaction. Consequently, allosteric ribozymes are finding utility in various molecular sensor applications and as genetic regulatory switches.
Additional chapters from this book:
Allosteric Ribozymes As Molecular Sensors and Genetic Regulatory Switches
Garrett A. Soukup
Since the discovery of RNA catalysts, biotechnology has focused heavily on utilizing ribozymes as reagents to control RNA processing and gene expression. However, ribozymes can also be manipulat...
Ribozymes and Deoxyribozymes Switched by Oligonucleotides
Dipankar Sen and Edward K. Y. Leung
This chapter explores the diverse strategies reported in recent years for using oligonucleotides to switch the catalytic activity of allosteric ribozymes and deoxyribozymes (DNAzymes). The earliest ...
Protein-Switched Ribozymes
Tan Inoue* and Yoshiya Ikawa
Specific RNA-binding proteins regulate RNA conformations in protein-switched ribozymes. Ribozyme activity can be regulated with RNA-binding proteins, as in the case of natural RNP ribozymes like RNa...
Riboswitches As Genetic Control Elements
Ali Nahvi and Ronald R. Breaker
Riboswitches are metabolite-sensing RNA elements that are present in the noncoding portions of certain messenger RNAs. Each riboswitch carries an aptamer that is highly selective for its target meta...
Switchable RNA Motifs As Drug Targets
Eric Westhof, Boris François and Quentin Vicens
RNA molecules are highly negatively charged polymers that form intricate three-dimensional assemblies involving recurrent structural motifs. Therefore, in order to understand the molecular recogniti...
Protein-induced RNA Switches in Nature
Oliver Mayer, Nikolai Windbichler, Herbert Wank and Renée Schroeder
The conformational flexibility of RNA is the basis for its functional versatility. RNA molecules can fold into functionally diverse structures, providing the grounds for great regulatory potential. ...
Fluorescence-Signaling Nucleic Acid-Based Sensors
Razvan Nutiu, Lieven P. Billen and Yingfu Li
It is widely known that two single-stranded nucleic acids with complementary sequences have the inherent ability to form Watson-Crick duplex structures. The simplicity and sequence-specificity of du...
