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Structural Basis of Transcription: An RNA Polymerase II Elongation Complex at 3.3 Å Resolution
Averell L. Gnatt,*Patrick Cramer,Jianhua Fu,David A. Bushnell,Roger D. Kornberg§
The crystal structure of RNA polymerase II in the act of
transcription was determined at 3.3 Å resolution. Duplex DNA is seenentering the main cleft of the enzyme and unwinding before theactive
site. Nine base pairs of DNA-RNA hybrid extend from theactive center
at nearly right angles to the entering DNA, withthe 3' end of the RNA
in the nucleotide addition site. The 3'end is positioned above a pore,
through which nucleotides mayenter and through which RNA may be
extruded during back-tracking.The 5'-most residue of the RNA is close
to the point of entryto an exit groove. Changes in protein structure
between the transcribingcomplex and free enzyme include closure of a
clamp over the DNAand RNA and ordering of a series of "switches"
at the base ofthe clamp to create a binding site complementary to the
DNA-RNAhybrid. Protein-nucleic acid contacts help explain DNA and RNAstrand separation, the specificity of RNA synthesis, "abortivecycling" during transcription initiation, and RNA and DNA
translocationduring transcription elongation.
Department of Structural Biology, Stanford University School of
Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305-5126, USA.
*
Present address: Department of Pharmacology and Experimental
Therapy, University of Maryland, 655 West Baltimore Street, HH403,Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
Present address: Institute of Biochemistry, Gene
Center, University of Munich, 81377 Munich, Germany.
Present address: Department of Molecular Biology and
Genetics, Cornell University, 223 Biotechnology Building, Ithaca, NY14853, USA.
§
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
kornberg{at}stanford.edu
The editors suggest the following Related Resources on Science sites:
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Patrick Cramer, David A. Bushnell, and Roger D. Kornberg (8 June 2001) Science292 (5523), 1863.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1059493] |Abstract »|Full Text »|PDF »
PERSPECTIVES
Aaron Klug (8 June 2001) Science292 (5523), 1844.
[DOI: 10.1126/science.1062384] |Summary »|Full Text »
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