Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 31, 2026

High-throughput Purification of Affinity-tagged Recombinant Proteins
Published on: August 26, 2012
The activation of RNA polymerase by alkylammonium ions
Abstract:
Tetramethylammonium and tetraethylammonium ions both lower the melting temperature of DNA. We have shown that these ions increase the activity of E. Coli RNA polymerase. When the base composition of the DNA template was varied, there was a correlation between the decrease in melting temperature and increase in RNA polymerase activity. No stimulation was observed when heat denatured DNA was used as template. It was shown that initiation of RNA synthesis was stimulated but to a smaller degree than was total RNA synthesis. The lag observed at low temperatures before RNA synthesis commences was found to be shorter in the presence of these alkyl ammonium ions. All these results are consistent with an unwinding of the double helix being an important step in transcription.
Related Concept Videos
Bacterial RNA Polymerase
In most genes, the transcription site is a single base present upstream of the coding sequence. Though RNAP is a catalytically efficient enzyme, it does not recognize...
Eukaryotic RNA Polymerases
All three eukaryotic RNAPs require specific transcription factors, of which the...
RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins
Bacterial Transcription
Transcription can be divided into three main stages, each involving distinct DNA sequences to guide the polymerase. These are:
Transcription Initiation
The promoters and enhancers and their accessory proteins allow tight regulation of...
RNA Polymerase II Accessory Proteins

