Glycine riboswitch

The bacterial glycine riboswitch is an RNA element. Glycine riboswitches usually consist of two metabolite-binding aptamers domains with similar structures in tandem. The aptamers cooperatively bind glycine to regulate the expression of downstream genes. In Bacillus subtilis, this riboswitch is found upstream of the gcvT operon which controls glycine degradation. It is thought that when glycine is in excess it will bind to both aptamers to activate these genes and facilitate glycine degradation.