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Updated: Jul 17, 2026

CD Spectroscopy to Study DNA-Protein Interactions
Published on: February 10, 2022
Upstream promoter sequences and alphaCTD mediate stable DNA wrapping within the RNA polymerase-promoter open complex
Sara Cellai1, Laura Mangiarotti, Nicola Vannini
1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Parma, Viale G.P. Usberti 23/A, 43100 Parma, Italy.
Abstract:
We show that the extent of stable DNA wrapping by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase (RNAP) in the RNAP-promoter open complex depends on the sequence of the promoter and, in particular, on the sequence of the upstream region of the promoter. We further show that the extent of stable DNA wrapping depends on the presence of the RNAP alpha-subunit carboxy-terminal domain and on the presence and length of the RNAP alpha-subunit interdomain linker. Our results indicate that the extensive stable DNA wrapping observed previously in the RNAP-promoter open complex at the lambda P(R) promoter is not a general feature of RNAP-promoter open complexes.
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