Structural Insights into De Novo Promoter Escape by Mycobacterium tuberculosis RNA Polymerase.

ABSTRACT: Transcription in bacteria is a multi-step process. In the first step, contacts between RNA polymerase and the promoter DNA must be established for transcription initiation to begin, but then these contacts must be broken for the enzyme to transition into the elongation phase. Single-molecule and biochemical observations report that promoter escape is a highly regulated and sometimes rate-limiting step in the transcription cycle; however, the structural mechanisms of promoter escape remain obscure. Promoter escape also serves as the target for the clinically important antibiotic rifampicin, used to treat tuberculosis. Here, we present seven distinct intermediates showing the structural details of M. tuberculosis RNA polymerase initial transcribing complexes and promoter escape, using a de n

SUBMITTER: Brewer J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12615793 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature