Both attenuation and riboswitches rely on changes in the secondary structure of the leader regions of mRNA to regulate gene expression. Compare and contrast the specific mechanisms in these two types of regulation.

Question: Compare and contrast the specific mechanisms in attenuation and riboswitches regulation of gene expression focusing on how both of these types of regulation rely on changes in the secondary structure of the leader regions of mRNA. Answer: Both attenuation and riboswitches rely on changes in the secondary structure of the leader regions of mRNA to regulate gene expression. They both respond to changes in intracellular levels of specific metabolites, regulating the proceeding or termination of transcription or translation. However, attenuation relies on regulatory proteins or the translation of the leader region, while riboswitches directly bind to the target ligand without additional proteins. Attenuation leads to transcription termination, whereas riboswitches can result in either transcription termination or translation inhibition.