Engineered riboswitches as novel tools in molecular biology

During the last years the great importance of RNA for regulating gene expression in all organisms has become obvious. Consequently, several recent approaches aim to utilize the outstanding chemical properties of RNA to develop artificial RNA regulators for conditional gene expression systems. A combination of rational design, in vitro selection and in vivo screening systems has been used to create a versatile set of RNA based molecular switches. These tools rely on diverse mechanisms and exhibit activity in several organisms. In this review, we summarize recent developments in the application of engineered riboswitches for gene regulation in vivo.