Magnesium Sensor

The Magnesium sensor RNA element is a cis-regulatory element that regulates the expression of the magnesium transporter protein MgtA. It is located in the 5' UTR of this gene. The element adopts different structures depending on the presence or absence of Mg2+, this has the affect of regulating whether transcription reads through the mgtA coding region or stops within the 5' UTR. cite journal |author=Groisman EA, Cromie MJ, Shi Y, Latifi T |title=A Mg2+-responding RNA that controls the expression of a Mg2+ transporter. |journal=Cold Spring Harb Symp Quant Biol |volume=71 |issue= |pages=251-8 |year=2006 |pmid=17381304] cite journal |author=Dann CE, Wakeman CA, Sieling CL, Baker SC, Irnov I, Winkler WC |title=Structure and mechanism of a metal-sensing regulatory RNA. |journal=Cell |volume=130 |issue=5 |pages=878-92 |year=2007 |pmid=17803910] A recent report suggests that the magnesium sensor targets the mgtA transcript for degradation by RNase E when cells are grown in high Mg(2+) environments.cite journal |author=Spinelli SV, Pontel LB, García Véscovi E, Soncini FC |title=Regulation of magnesium homeostasis in Salmonella: Mg(2+) targets the mgtA transcript for degradation by RNase E. |journal=FEMS Microbiol Lett |volume=280 |issue=2 |pages=226-34 |year=2008 |pmid=18248433]

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