Berlin 2008 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 15: Single Molecules

BP 15.4: Talk

Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 14:45–15:00, C 243

Transcriptional pausing and proof reading — •Martin Depken, Stephan Grill, and Eric Galburt — Max-Planck-Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden, Germany

RNA polymerases are protein molecular machines that read the genetic information and transcribe it into messenger RNA. The process of adding new bases to the nascent RNA molecule is frequently interrupted by pauses. Here we consider the nature of these pauses, and show that they are well described by a diffusive process. This has implications for the pause time distribution, and the polymerase ability to transcribe through structural barriers such as nucleosomes and other DNA binding proteins. We further consider the possible relation between transcriptional pausing and proof reading, and examine the resulting interplay between fidelity and transcription speed.