Publications by authors named "R Landick"
The genomes of human gut bacteria in the genus Bacteroides include numerous operons for biosynthesis of diverse capsular polysaccharides (CPSs). The first two genes of each CPS operon encode a locus-specific paralog of transcription elongation factor NusG (called UpxY), which enhances transcript elongation, and a UpxZ protein that inhibits noncognate UpxYs. This process, together with promoter inversions, ensures that a single CPS operon is transcribed in most cells.
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- The biogenesis of RNA by RNA polymerase (RNAP) requires specific accessory factors for regulating various stages of transcription, with NusG-Spt5 being the only universally conserved factor across all life forms.
- NusG-Spt5's evolution has enabled it to maintain important interactions with RNAP, influencing transcription processes by either reducing or increasing pausing during RNA elongation based on the strength of its binding.
- Recent research has uncovered the functional diversity of NusG-Spt5 among different organisms, showing variations in their target selection and roles in regulating critical biological processes, such as the production of antibiotics and toxins.
RNA polymerase (RNAP), the central enzyme of transcription, intermittently pauses during the elongation stage of RNA synthesis. Pausing provides an opportunity for regulatory events such as nascent RNA folding or the recruitment of transregulators. NusG (Spt5 in eukaryotes and archaea) regulates RNAP pausing and is the only transcription factor conserved across all cellular life.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacterial chromosomal DNA is structured and compacted by proteins known as bacterial chromatin proteins (i.e., nucleoid-associated proteins or NAPs).
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