What does "riboswitch" mean?

A segment within the leading end of a messenger RNA transcript that is able to gauge the cell's need for the protein encoded by the rest of the message, then to rearrange its shape to control whether that protein is manufactured

Riboswitch

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
A segment within the leading end of a messenger RNA transcript that is able to gauge the cell's need for the protein encoded by the rest of the message, then to rearrange its shape to control whether that protein is manufactured
"2006 Volker A Erdmann et.al. For example, a riboswitch responsible for sensing flavin mononucleotide (FMN) levels is present in the 5' leader of riboflavin mrna"

Example

More examples

"2006 Volker A Erdmann et.al. For example, a riboswitch responsible for sensing flavin mononucleotide (FMN) levels is present in the 5' leader of riboflavin mrna"

Etymology

From ribo- + switch.

Related phrases

messenger rna

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.