Origin and evolution of allosteric riboswitches

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The Bacillus subtilis glycine riboswitch comprises tandem glycine-binding aptamers and regulates transcription via the sensing of glycine. And it shows allosteric effect by binding of one glycine to one aptamer. Here, I found that the riboswitch behaves in a "glycine-independent" manner in the presence of polyethylene glycol and ethylene glycol. The effect is related to the formation of a terminator stem within the expression platform under such conditions. This provided new perspective about the evolution of riboswitch and acquisition of allostericity that molecule-specific functions of riboswitches would have come later, after the formation of less specific domain in riboswitches.