A bridge to transcription by RNA polymerase

Craig D Kaplan1, Roger D Kornberg

  • 1Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University, 299 Campus Dr, West, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.

Journal of Biology
|December 19, 2008
PubMed

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Transcription can be divided into three main stages, each involving distinct DNA sequences to guide the polymerase. These are:
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Unlike eukaryotes, bacteria use a single RNA Polymerase (RNAP) to transcribe all genes. The different subunits of bacterial RNAPhave distinct functions. The multisubunit structure of the bacterial RNAP helps the enzyme to maintain catalytic function, facilitate assembly, interact with DNA and RNA, and self-regulate its activity.
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Unlike eukaryotes, bacteria use a single RNA Polymerase (RNAP) to transcribe all genes. The different subunits of bacterial RNAPhave distinct functions. The multisubunit structure of the bacterial RNAP helps the enzyme to maintain catalytic function, facilitate assembly, interact with DNA and RNA, and self-regulate its activity.
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Transcription elongation is a dynamic process that alters depending upon the sequence heterogeneity of the DNA being transcribed. Hence, it is not surprising that the elongation complex's composition also varies along the way while transcribing a gene.
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The promoters and enhancers and their accessory proteins allow tight regulation of...