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Aptamers and riboswitches: perspectives in biotechnology

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Abstract

Aptamers are short, single stranded nucleic acids which bind a wide range of different ligands with extraordinary high binding affinity and specificity. The steadily increasing number of aptamers is accompanied by an expanding range of applications in biotechnology. We will describe new developments in the field including the use of aptamers for conditional gene regulation and as biosensors. In addition, we will discuss the potential of aptamers as tags to visualize RNA and protein distribution in living cells and as therapeutics. Furthermore, we will consider biotechnological applications of riboswitches for gene regulation and as drug target.

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Acknowledgment

We thank Jens Wöhnert for the critical reading of the manuscript. We are grateful to the Aventis Foundation and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for their financial support.

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  1. Institut für Molekulare Biowissenschaften, Aventis Foundation Endowed Professorship, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-Universität Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 9, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Julia E. Weigand & Beatrix Suess

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  1. Julia E. Weigand
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  2. Beatrix Suess
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Correspondence to Beatrix Suess.

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Weigand, J.E., Suess, B. Aptamers and riboswitches: perspectives in biotechnology. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 85, 229–236 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-009-2194-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-009-2194-2

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