Introduction
Multi-subunit RNA polymerases are among the largest and most dynamic enzymes known. RNA polymerases utilize general transcription factors to locate, bind to, and “melt” a promoter DNA sequence. General transcription factors help RNA polymerase to identify a promoter. RNA polymerase is considered a molecular motor, because, during elongation, the enzyme translocates along a DNA template to synthesize RNA. RNA polymerases interpret DNA genomic sequence by providing a messenger RNA (mRNA) copy of DNA for translation on a ribosome. The process of transcription is highly regulated and central to information processing in cells.
Because multi-subunit RNA polymerases are so central to genetic coding and code interpretation, an evolutionary view is applied to help understand RNA polymerase complexity, structure, function, and dynamics (Burton et al. 2016). RNA polymerase evolution tracks evolution of life on earth from the RNA-protein world to LUCA (the last universal common...
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Kireeva, M.L., Kashlev, M., Burton, Z.F. (2018). RNA Polymerases and Transcription. In: Roberts, G., Watts, A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Biophysics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35943-9_443-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35943-9_443-1
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