Cryo-electron microscopy structures, combined with biochemical experiments, show how the E. coli F element-encoded TraR protein regulates transcription initiation by altering RNA polymerase conformation and conformational heterogeneity.
Tingting Zhao, Irina O Vvedenskaya ... Craig D Kaplan
Ssl2 processivity determines the window for transcription start site selection during promoter scanning by RNA polymerase II in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Cryo-EM structures of RNA polymerase I reveal considerable 'transformers-like' rearrangements where one subcomplex dissociates and is replaced by one domain of another subunit, possibly as an additional layer of transcriptional control.
The cyclic-peptide antibiotic GE23077 inhibits bacterial RNA polymerase through a novel target that exhibits low susceptibility to target-based resistance and that enables synthesis of bipartite inhibitors that are exceptionally potent and refractory to target-based resistance.
Structures of RNA polymerase I transcription machinery revealed a ratcheting motion within the complex in coordination with three distinct functional states, implicating a novel mechanism for promoter bubble opening in the absence of ATP hydrolysis.
Eva Torreira, Jaime Alegrio Louro ... Carlos Fernández-Tornero
Live-cell imaging, genetic analysis and electron cryomicroscopy identify structural motifs involved in the differential assembly of Pol I-Rrn3 complexes and Pol I homodimers in response to nutrient availability.
Cryo-electron microscopy structures show how the clinically used antimicrobial fidaxomicin binds and inhibits Mycobacterium tuberculosis RNA polymerase by acting like a doorstop to jam the enzyme in an open conformation via the general transcription factor RbpA.
Jin Young Kang, Paul Dominic B Olinares ... Seth A Darst
Cryo-electron microscopy structures show how coliphage HK022 Nun blocks Escherichia coli RNA polymerase translocation by mediating multiple interactions between the RNA polymerase and nucleic acids.
Ceftriaxone resistance has arisen multiple times in clinical gonococcal populations via previously undescribed RNA polymerase mutations, underscoring the importance of continued surveillance for novel resistance determinants.