Boudvillain Marc, Nollmann Marcello, Margeat Emmanuel
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - UPR, Orléans, France.
Transcription. 2010 Sep-Oct;1(2):70-5. doi: 10.4161/trns.1.2.12232.
In bacteria, a subset of transcription termination events requires the participation of the transcription termination factor Rho. Rho is a homo-hexameric, ring-shaped, motor protein that uses the energy derived from its RNA-dependent ATPase activity to directionally unwind RNA and RNA-DNA helices and to dissociate transcription elongation complexes. Despite a wealth of structural, biochemical and genetic data, the molecular mechanisms used by Rho to carry out its biological functions remain poorly understood. Here, we briefly discuss the most recent findings on Rho mechanisms and function and highlight important questions that remain to be addressed.
在细菌中,一部分转录终止事件需要转录终止因子Rho的参与。Rho是一种同型六聚体的环状运动蛋白,它利用其RNA依赖性ATP酶活性产生的能量来定向解开RNA和RNA-DNA螺旋,并使转录延伸复合物解离。尽管有大量的结构、生化和遗传学数据,但Rho执行其生物学功能所使用的分子机制仍知之甚少。在这里,我们简要讨论关于Rho机制和功能的最新发现,并强调仍有待解决的重要问题。