Riboswitches are structured noncoding RNA domains used by many bacteria to monitor the
concentrations of target ligands and regulate gene expression accordingly. In the past 20 …

This review aims at juxtaposing common versus distinct structural and functional strategies
that are applied by aptamers, riboswitches, and ribozymes/DNAzymes. Focusing on recently …

Earth's life may have originated as self-replicating RNA, and it has been argued that RNA
viruses and viroid-like elements are remnants of such pre-cellular RNA world. RNA viruses …

Originally, viruses were defined as miniscule infectious agents that passed through filters
that retain even the smallest cells. Subsequently, viruses were considered obligate …

The discovery of natural RNA enzymes (ribozymes) prompted the pursuit of artificial DNA
enzymes (deoxyribozymes) by in vitro selection methods. A key motivation is the conceptual …

A growing collection of bacterial riboswitch classes is being discovered that sense central
metabolites, coenzymes, and signaling molecules. Included among the various mechanisms …

Since the initial discovery of ribozymes in the early 1980s, catalytic nucleic acids have been
used in different areas. Compared with protein enzymes, catalytic nucleic acids are …

In the past few years, with the in-depth research of functional nucleic acids and isothermal
amplification techniques, their applications in the field of biosensing have attracted great …

Food safety has always been a hot issue of social concern, and biosensing has been widely
used in the field of food safety detection. Compared with traditional aptamer‐based …

The discovery of structured non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) in bacteria can reveal new facets of
biology and biochemistry. Comparative genomics analyses executed by powerful computer …