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Engines of gene expression

A backbone model of ten subunits of yeast RNA polymerase II has been derived from the ongoing analysis of its crystal structure. Notable features include ‘jaws’ for holding DNA, a putatively RNA-regulated ‘sliding clamp’, two ‘pores’ located in the vicinity of the catalytic center, and a high degree of similarity with the structure of a bacterial RNA polymerase.

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Figure 1: A network of contacts between pol II subunits (color coded to match Fig. 2).
Figure 2: Structures of a, Pol II and b, Taq RNA polymerase.

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Acknowledgements

We thank S. A. Darst for making coordinates of Taq RNA polymerase available and R. Kornberg for making the pol II coordinates readily available on his web site.

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Correspondence to E. Peter Geiduschek or Michael S. Bartlett.

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Geiduschek, E., Bartlett, M. Engines of gene expression. Nat Struct Mol Biol 7, 437–439 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/75820

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