Transcription termination: pulling out all the stops.
In this issue, Larson et al. (2008) describe the use of optical traps to pull on the DNA template or RNA transcript and thereby explore the termination mechanism for E. coli RNA polymerase at intrinsic terminators. Their results imply that, depending on the nature of the terminator sequence, RNA polymerase uses either hypertranslocation or RNA:DNA shearing to destabilize the hybrid in the transcription bubble.
Greenblatt
Jack F
JF
Banting and Best Department of Medical Research and Department of Molecular Genetics, Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research, University of Toronto, 160 College Street, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3E1. jack.greenblatt@utoronto.ca
D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D013728:Terminator Regions, Genetic; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases