6S RNA Regulates E. coli RNA Polymerase Activity (original) (raw)

zyme that also has been under investigation for several Cell Biology and Metabolism Branch decades. RNAP exists in two major forms. Core RNAP National Institute of Child Health and Human contains ␣, ␤, and ␤Ј subunits and carries out transcrip-Development tion elongation. The holoenzyme form (core ϩ subunit) National Institutes of Health is required for promoter recognition and transcription Bethesda, Maryland 20892 initiation. The subunit confers promoter binding and specificity to RNAP; thus, the regulated exchange of different factors is one critical mode of transcriptional Summary regulation (reviewed in Gross et al., 1992; Helmann, 1994; Ishihama, 1999). There are seven known sub-The E. coli 6S RNA was discovered more than three units in E. coli; 70 is essential for normal growth, S is decades ago, yet its function has remained elusive.