Modified pyrimidines specifically bind the purine riboswitch

Abstract

The purine riboswitch is a genetic regulatory element found in the 5'-untranslated regions of Gram-positive bacteria that regulates expression of the mRNA specifically in response to either guanine or adenine. We report that the adenine-responsive RNA element is also capable of specifically recognizing pyrimidine compounds bearing modifications at the 6- or 5,6-positions in a fashion similar to that of purine compounds. Using isothermal titration calorimetry and X-ray crystallography, the binding of these compounds is characterized.