title: Termination of DNA replication of bacterial and plasmid chromosomes.
abstract: Sequence-specific replication termini occur in many bacterial and plasmid chromosomes and consist of two components: a cis-acting ter site and a trans-acting replication terminator protein. The interaction of a terminator protein with the ter site creates a protein-DNA complex that arrests replication forks in a polar fashion by antagonizing the action of the replicative helicase (thereby exhibiting a contrahelicase activity). Terminator proteins also arrest RNA polymerases in a polar fashion. Passage of an RNA transcript through a terminus from the non-blocking direction abrogates replication termination function, a mechanism that is likely to be used in conditional termini or replication check points.
authors: Department of Structural Biology, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL 60064, USA.
authors: D E
authors: DE
authors: Bussiere
authors: D
authors: D
authors: Bastia
mesh_terms: D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000235:genetics; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000502:physiology*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010957:Plasmids / Q000502:physiology*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D011815:R Factors / Q000235:genetics; D013728:Terminator Regions, Genetic
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; C062011:DNA replication terminus site-binding protein, E coli; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C061910:tus protein, Bacteria; C489236:tus protein, E coli