Structural and Kinetic investigation of PreQ1 riboswitch

Modulating the conformational dynamics of RNA riboswitches is a promising route toward understanding gene expression and the development of antibiotic alternatives. A prerequisite for this is detailed structural and kinetic information along the folding/unfolding pathway of the riboswitch’s aptamer domain. Therefore, we request time for microfluidic-based cSAXS measurement to investigate the aptamer conformation of three different 7-aminomethyl-7-deazaguanine (preQ1)-I riboswitches folding upon the addition of the ligand preQ1 and divalent ions (namely Mg2+ and Ca2+). These SAXS profiles will be visualized using our SAXS-driven molecular dynamics approach. In this way, we will obtain RNA conformation that will be the starting point for subsequent all-atom molecular dynamics simulation and utilized to interpret further biophysical investigation of preQ1-I riboswitches.