BIOCHEMISTRY

Trigger loop dynamics aid intrinsic transcription termination by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase

Transcription produces RNA gene products from DNA, which are essential for life. In the lab of Professor Bob Landick, Ananya Ray-Soni studies the role of structural rearrangements of the E. coli enzyme, RNA polymerase, that performs transcription. She’s discovered that the dynamic movements of a part of the enzyme — called the trigger loop — are essential for the termination of transcription. 

She says that as the world is seeing a rise in antibiotic resistance, the trigger loop may serve as a source of potential drug targets. Learn more about her work at her Thesis Review on Wednesday, April 5 at 1 p.m. in Khorana Auditorium, HFD Biochemistry Laboratories.