Discontinuous mechanism of transcription elongation

During transcription elongation, three flexibly connected parts of RNA polymerase of Escherichia coli advance along the template so that the front-end domain is followed by the catalytic site which in turn is followed by the RNA product binding site. The advancing enzyme was found to maintain the sa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1994-08, Vol.265 (5173), p.793-796
Main Authors: NUDLER, E, GOLDFARB, A, KASHLEV, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
Base Sequence
Binding Sites
Biological and medical sciences
Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNA
DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases - metabolism
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli Proteins
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Models, Genetic
Molecular and cellular biology
Molecular genetics
Molecular Sequence Data
Movement
Peptide Elongation Factors - metabolism
Principals
Protein Conformation
Ribonucleic acid
RNA
RNA, Messenger - metabolism
RNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism
Templates, Genetic
Transcription Factors - metabolism
Transcription, Genetic - physiology
Transcription. Transcription factor. Splicing. Rna processing
Transcriptional Elongation Factors
Transcripts (Written Records)
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Summary:During transcription elongation, three flexibly connected parts of RNA polymerase of Escherichia coli advance along the template so that the front-end domain is followed by the catalytic site which in turn is followed by the RNA product binding site. The advancing enzyme was found to maintain the same conformation throughout extended segments of the transcribed region. However, when the polymerase traveled across certain DNA sites that seemed to briefly anchor the front-end domain, cyclic shifting of the three parts, accompanied by buildup and relief of internal strain, was observed. Thus, elongation proceeded in alternating laps of monotonous and inchworm-like movement with the flexible RNA polymerase configuration being subject to direct sequence control.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.8047884