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Related Concept Videos

Preparation and Reactions of Thiols02:33

Preparation and Reactions of Thiols

Thiols are prepared using the hydrosulfide anion as a nucleophile in a nucleophilic substitution reaction with alkyl halides. For instance, bromobutane reacts with sodium hydrosulfide to give butanethiol.
Redox Reactions01:24

Redox Reactions

Oxidation-reduction or redox reactions involve the transfer of electrons from one molecule or atom to another. When an atom gains an electron, another atom must lose an electron, meaning oxidation and reduction must occur together. Since the redox occurs in pairs, the atom that gets oxidized is also called the reducing agent or reductant, and the atom that is reduced is also called the oxidizing agent or oxidant. A straightforward way to remember the definitions of oxidation and reduction is...
Redox Reactions01:27

Redox Reactions

Redox reactions are vital biochemical processes that underpin energy metabolism in cells. These reactions involve the transfer of electrons between molecules, occurring in tandem as oxidation and reduction. Oxidation refers to the loss of electrons, while reduction denotes their gain. This coupling ensures the seamless flow of electrons through metabolic pathways. For example, in bacterial metabolism, glucose undergoes oxidation to carbon dioxide, while oxygen is simultaneously reduced to...
Covalently Linked Protein Regulators02:04

Covalently Linked Protein Regulators

Proteins can undergo many types of post-translational modifications, often in response to changes in their environment. These modifications play an important role in the function and stability of these proteins. Covalently linked molecules include functional groups, such as methyl, acetyl, and phosphate groups, and also small proteins, such as ubiquitin. There are around 200 different types of covalent regulators that have been identified.
These groups modify specific amino acids in a protein.
Riboswitches01:56

Riboswitches

Riboswitches are non-coding mRNA domains that regulate the transcription and translation of downstream genes without the help of proteins. Riboswitches bind directly to a metabolite and can form unique stem-loop or hairpin structures in response to the amount of the metabolite present. They have two distinct regions – a metabolite-binding aptamer and an expression platform.
The aptamer has high specificity for a particular metabolite which allows riboswitches to specifically regulate...
Transcriptional Regulation: Riboswitches01:23

Transcriptional Regulation: Riboswitches

Riboswitches are RNA elements that regulate gene expression by altering their secondary structures in response to specific effector molecules. These elements, located in the leader regions of certain mRNAs, act as transcriptional regulators by toggling between alternative conformations to control downstream gene expression. Riboswitch-mediated regulation is a precise mechanism for modulating biosynthetic pathways, as exemplified by the riboflavin biosynthesis pathway in Bacillus...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Resin-Assisted Capture Coupled with Isobaric Tandem Mass Tag Labeling for Multiplexed Quantification of Protein Thiol Oxidation
07:16

Resin-Assisted Capture Coupled with Isobaric Tandem Mass Tag Labeling for Multiplexed Quantification of Protein Thiol Oxidation

Published on: June 21, 2021

Thiol-based redox switches and gene regulation.

Haike Antelmann1, John D Helmann

  • 1Institute of Microbiology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University of Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany. antelman@uni-greifswald.de

Antioxidants & Redox Signaling
|July 15, 2010
PubMed
Summary

Cysteine

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Cysteine's unique redox chemistry allows it to act as a cellular sensor.
  • Reactive species modify cysteine residues, triggering regulatory responses.
  • Thiol-based switches are crucial for managing cellular redox balance and gene expression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an overview of thiol-based redox switches.
  • To highlight examples in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
  • To illustrate how cysteine modifications regulate gene expression.

Main Methods:

  • Literature review of thiol-based redox switches.
  • Analysis of regulatory mechanisms in prokaryotes and eukaryotes.
  • Identification of key cysteine-containing regulators.

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Combining Non-reducing SDS-PAGE Analysis and Chemical Crosslinking to Detect Multimeric Complexes Stabilized by Disulfide Linkages in Mammalian Cells in Culture
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Combining Non-reducing SDS-PAGE Analysis and Chemical Crosslinking to Detect Multimeric Complexes Stabilized by Disulfide Linkages in Mammalian Cells in Culture

Published on: May 2, 2019

Rapid Optimization of a Light-Inducible System to Control Mammalian Gene Expression
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Rapid Optimization of a Light-Inducible System to Control Mammalian Gene Expression

Published on: November 4, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 11, 2026

Resin-Assisted Capture Coupled with Isobaric Tandem Mass Tag Labeling for Multiplexed Quantification of Protein Thiol Oxidation
07:16

Resin-Assisted Capture Coupled with Isobaric Tandem Mass Tag Labeling for Multiplexed Quantification of Protein Thiol Oxidation

Published on: June 21, 2021

Combining Non-reducing SDS-PAGE Analysis and Chemical Crosslinking to Detect Multimeric Complexes Stabilized by Disulfide Linkages in Mammalian Cells in Culture
09:37

Combining Non-reducing SDS-PAGE Analysis and Chemical Crosslinking to Detect Multimeric Complexes Stabilized by Disulfide Linkages in Mammalian Cells in Culture

Published on: May 2, 2019

Rapid Optimization of a Light-Inducible System to Control Mammalian Gene Expression
09:08

Rapid Optimization of a Light-Inducible System to Control Mammalian Gene Expression

Published on: November 4, 2025

Main Results:

  • Disulfide bond formation directly regulates bacterial transcription factors like OxyR and Spx.
  • S-thiolation, S-alkylation, and RNS modification also control thiol switches.
  • Eukaryotic examples include yeast Yap1p, Nrf2/Keap1, and Chlamydomonas NAB1.

Conclusions:

  • Cysteine's redox-sensitive modifications are conserved regulatory mechanisms across organisms.
  • These switches control gene expression to maintain thiol homeostasis and detoxify reactive species.
  • A diverse array of chemical modifications at cysteine residues impacts cellular function.