FTHFS RNA Motif
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The FTHFS RNA motif is a conserved
RNA Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a polymeric molecule that is essential for most biological functions, either by performing the function itself (non-coding RNA) or by forming a template for the production of proteins (messenger RNA). RNA and deoxyrib ...
structure that was discovered by bioinformatics. FTHFS motifs are found in
metagenomic Metagenomics is the study of all genetic material from all organisms in a particular environment, providing insights into their composition, diversity, and functional potential. Metagenomics has allowed researchers to profile the microbial co ...
sequences derived from samples of the human gut. FTHFS motif RNAs likely function as
cis-regulatory element ''Cis''-regulatory elements (CREs) or ''cis''-regulatory modules (CRMs) are regions of non-coding DNA which regulate the transcription of neighboring genes. CREs are vital components of genetic regulatory networks, which in turn control morpho ...
s, in view of their positions upstream of protein-coding
gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...
s. FTHFS RNAs are consistently located upstream of genes encoding formate-tetrahydrofolate ligase, which produces 10-formyltetrahydrofolate. Such genes are also very commonly regulated by the previously established ZMP/ZTP riboswitch. These ZMP/ZTP-sensing
riboswitches In molecular biology, a riboswitch is a regulatory segment of a messenger RNA molecule that binds a small molecule, resulting in a change in production of the proteins encoded by the mRNA. Thus, an mRNA that contains a riboswitch is directly invo ...
detect a shortage of formyltetrahydrofolate by measuring the levels of ZMP and or its triphosphorylated form ZTP; because formyltetrahydrofolate is heavily used in the de novo
purine Purine is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound that consists of two rings (pyrimidine and imidazole) fused together. It is water-soluble. Purine also gives its name to the wider class of molecules, purines, which include substituted puri ...
synthesis pathway, formyltetrahydrofolate starvation leads to a buildup of the purine intermediate ZMP, or the result of its triphosphorylation, ZTP. It was, however, noted that the
secondary structure Protein secondary structure is the local spatial conformation of the polypeptide backbone excluding the side chains. The two most common Protein structure#Secondary structure, secondary structural elements are alpha helix, alpha helices and beta ...
of the FTHFS motif is simpler than many riboswitches, and it is less clear if this motif represents a promising riboswitch candidate.


References

{{reflist Non-coding RNA