Fluoride-responsive riboswitches

Patent Pending The crcB RNA motif (now called the fluoride riboswitch) is a conserved RNA structure identified by bioinformatics in a wide variety of bacteria and archaea.[1] These RNAs were later shown to function as riboswitches that sense fluoride ions.[2] These "fluoride riboswitches" increase expression of downstream genes when fluoride levels are elevated, and the genes are proposed to help mitigate the toxic effects of very high levels of fluoride.