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Jamming the ratchet of transcription

Nature Structural & Molecular Biology volume 15, pages 777–779 (2008)Cite this article

The exact mechanism by which cellular RNA polymerases translocate and maintain exceptionally high fidelity during transcription remains an important unresolved issue. Two recent structural studies of yeast RNA polymerase II in complex with its potent inhibitor, the fungal toxin α-amanitin, address this matter by describing crucial and surprising details about the dynamic organization of the enzyme catalytic center.

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Figure 1: Structural elements of yeast Pol II crucial for α-amanitin action.
Figure 2: Model of RNA polymerase nucleotide addition cycle (NAC).

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health.

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  1. Vladimir Svetlov and Evgeny Nudler are in the Department of Biochemistry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10016, USA. evgeny.nudler@nyumc.org,

    Vladimir Svetlov & Evgeny Nudler

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  1. Vladimir Svetlov
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  2. Evgeny Nudler
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Svetlov, V., Nudler, E. Jamming the ratchet of transcription. Nat Struct Mol Biol 15, 777–779 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nsmb0808-777

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