An Intrinsic Alkalization Circuit Turns on mntP Riboswitch under Manganese Stress in Escherichia coli

Abstract

Riboswitch RNAs are cis -acting elements that can adopt alternative conformations in the presence or absence of a specific ligand(s) to modulate transcription termination or translation initiation processes. In the present work, we show that manganese and alkaline pH are both necessary for maximal mntP riboswitch activation to mitigate the manganese toxicity.