The ω Subunit Governs RNA Polymerase Stability and Transcriptional Specificity in Staphylococcus aureus.

ABSTRACT: Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that causes infection in a wide variety of sites within the human body. Its ability to adapt to the human host and to produce a successful infection requires precise orchestration of gene expression. While DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RNAP) is generally well characterized, the roles of several small accessory subunits within the complex have yet to be fully explored. This is particularly true for the omega (ω or RpoZ) subunit, which has been extensively studied in Gram-negative bacteria but largely neglected in Gram-positive counterparts. In Escherichia coli, it has been shown that ppGpp binding, and thus control of the stringent response, is facilitated by ω. Interestingly, key residues that facilitate ppGpp binding by ω are not conserved i

SUBMITTER: Weiss A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5198492 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature