Transcription in E. coli: Structural Basis of Nus-Factor Dependent Regulation

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Paul Rösch
• Subject Area: Structural Biology
• Term: from 2011 to 2014
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 192440363

The current grant application describes an effort towards the combination of X-ray crystallography, NMR-spectroscopy and molecular dynamics calculations, optical spectroscopy and biochemical methods to shed light onto the structural basis of transcription regulation process in the bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli). Modulation of transcription initiation, elongation, termination and antitermination is an essential regulatory mechanism of the propagation of a large number of viruses including the prototypical E. coli phage λ, the E. coli phage Hong Kong 022 (HK022), the eukaryotic lentiviruses such as human immunodeficiency virus 1 (HIV-1) as well as a number of other viruses. The current application targets the regulation of transcription in E. coli by the Nus-factors, in particular the conformational basis of these regulatory processes. In parallel, the mechanism of the phage λ/ E. coli antitermination system and the HK022/ E. coli termination system will be studied. The long-term goal is to extend our knowledge of transcription regulation and possibilities of its modulation in prokaryotes, with the eventual goal of rationally designing new antibiotics.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants