An integrated perspective on RNA aptamer ligand-recognition models : clearing muddy waters
Date
14/03/2017Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Riboswitches are short RNA motifs that sensitively and selectively bind cognate ligands to modulate gene expression. Like protein receptor-ligand pairs, their binding dynamics are traditionally categorized as following one of two paradigmatic mechanisms: conformational selection and induced fit. In conformational selection, ligand binding stabilizes a particular state already present in the receptor’s dynamic ensemble. In induced fit, ligand-receptor interactions enable the system to overcome the energetic barrier into a previously inaccessible state. In this article, we question whether a polarized division of RNA binding mechanisms truly meets the conceptual needs of the field. We will review the history behind this classification of RNA-ligand interactions, and the way induced fit in particular has been rehabilitated by single-molecule studies of RNA aptamers. We will highlight several recent results from single-molecule experimental studies of riboswitches that reveal gaps or even contradictions between common definitions of the two terms, and we will conclude by proposing a more robust framework that considers the range of RNA behaviors unveiled in recent years as a reality to be described, rather than an increasingly unwieldy set of exceptions to the traditional models.
Citation
McCluskey , K & Penedo , J C 2017 , ' An integrated perspective on RNA aptamer ligand-recognition models : clearing muddy waters ' , Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics , vol. 19 , no. 10 , pp. 6921-6932 . https://doi.org/10.1039/C6CP08798A
Publication
Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
1463-9076Type
Journal item
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