Pierre, YasmineFluorescent riboswitch reporters can be used in vivo to monitor metabolite dynamics. Previous work used a fluorescent yfp reporter based on a cyclic di-GMP responsive riboswitch from Bacillus licheniformis to monitor cyclic di-GMP levels in individual Bacillus subtilis cells. The previous study found that cell fates in Bacillus subtilis are not uniform in the presence of varying cyclic di-GMP levels. It is important to further develop tools that enable single-cell imaging in Gram-positive bacteria. Fluorogenic aptamers are single-stranded RNA molecules that have been evolved via in vitro selection to bind strongly and specifically to fluorophore molecules and emit a fluorescent signal. These fluorogenic aptamers can be used instead of fluorescent proteins in riboswitch reporter systems to provide a more dynamic read-out of metabolite dynamics in cells. However, relatively little work has been done to evaluate the use of these fluorogenic aptamers as reporter systems in Gram-positive bacteria. The objective of this project is to evaluate the use of four different fluorogenic aptamers (Mango-III, Broccoli, dimeric Broccoli, and SpinachII) instead of yfp in a cyclic di-GMP responsive riboswitch reporter system in Bacillus subtilis. All plasmids containing the riboswitch reporters were constructed and successfully transformed into E. coli cells. Subsequently, the cyclic di-GMP responsive riboswitch reporter systems were successfully transformed into B. subtilis WT PY79 and a 𝝙pdeH mutant. Future work involves evaluating their performance in vivo in B. subtilis via laser confocal and fluorescence microscopy.FIREPierreLSAMPFluorogenic AptamerSingle Cell ImagingCOMPARISON OF RIBOSWITCH REPORTER SYSTEMS FOR LIVE CELL IMAGING OF CYCLIC-DI-GMP DYNAMICS IN BACILLUS SUBTILIS POPULATIONSPresentation