HelD-mediated RNA polymerase recycling Image Credit: Illustration by Peter Lewis, University of Newcastle (cartoon image from >.
HelD-mediated RNA polymerase recycling Image Credit: Illustration by Peter Lewis, University of Newcastle (cartoon image from >. Researchers elucidate a unique molecular mechanism for efficient gene expression in pathogenic bacteria No 256/2020 from Dec 18, 2020 Three international research teams, including a consortium coordinated at Freie Universität Berlin, find that a motor protein, called HelD, acts like a "molecular bully" to pry the central enzyme of transcription, RNA polymerase, away from the DNA template, setting it free for the continued production of genetic messages. The findings uncover molecular mechanisms important for the efficient growth of pathogenic bacteria and for their ability to escape the immune system by entering dormant states. The new insights were published in the journal Nature Communications ( https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20157-5 ; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20158-4 ; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-20159-3 ). Life depends on the flow of the genetic information from DNA to RNA to proteins. In all forms of life, the first step of this gene expression process, transcription of DNA into RNA, is carried out by a complex enzyme, called RNA polymerase. Being unicellular organisms, bacteria often experience fast-changing environments, for example, when they infect their hosts.
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