RNA polymerase (RNAP) is, in its elongation phase, an emblematic example of a molecular motor whose activity is highly sensitive to DNA supercoiling. After a review of DNA supercoiling basic features, we discuss how supercoiling controls polymerase velocity, while being itself modified by polymerase activity. This coupling is supported by single-molecule measurements. Physical modeling allows us to describe quantitatively how supercoiling and torsional constraints mediate a mechanical coupling between adjacent polymerases. On this basis, we obtain a description that may explain the existence and functioning of RNAP convoys.
CITATION STYLE
Lesne, A., Victor, J. M., Bertrand, E., Basyuk, E., & Barbi, M. (2018). The role of supercoiling in the motor activity of RNA polymerases. In Methods in Molecular Biology (Vol. 1805, pp. 215–232). Humana Press Inc. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-8556-2_11
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