Mn2+-Sensing Mechanisms of yybP-ykoY Orphan Riboswitches

Gene regulation in cis by riboswitches is prevalent in bacteria. The yybP-ykoY riboswitch family is quite widespread, yet its ligand and function remained unknown. Here, we characterize the Lactococcus lactis yybP-ykoY orphan riboswitch as a Mn2+-dependent transcription-ON riboswitch, with a similar to 30-40 mM affinity for Mn2+. We further determined its crystal structure at 2.7 angstrom to elucidate the metal sensing mechanism. The riboswitch resembles a hairpin, with two coaxially stacked helices tethered by a four-way junction and a tertiary docking interface. The Mn2+-sensing region, strategically located at the highly conserved docking interface, has two metal binding sites. Whereas one site tolerates the binding of either Mg2+ or Mn2+, the other site strongly prefers Mn2+ due to a direct contact from the N7 of an invariable adenosine. Mutagenesis and a Mn2+-free E. coli yybP-ykoY structure further reveal that Mn2+ binding is coupled with stabilization of the Mn2+-sensing region and the aptamer domain.