TFE and Spt4/5 open and close the RNA polymerase clamp during the transcription cycle

Transcription is an intrinsically dynamic process and requires the coordinated interplay of RNA polymerases (RNAPs) with nucleic acids and transcription factors. Classical structural biology techniques have revealed detailed snapshots of a subset of conformational states of the RNAP as they exist in crystals. A detailed view of the conformational space sampled by the RNAP and the molecular mechanisms of the basal transcription factors E (TFE) and Spt4/5 through conformational constraints has remained elusive. We monitored the conformational changes of the flexible clamp of the RNAP by combining a fluorescently labeled recombinant 12-subunit RNAP system with single-molecule FRET measurements. We measured and compared the distances across the DNA binding channel of the archaeal RNAP. Our results show that the transition of the closed to the open initiation complex, which occurs concomitant with DNA melting, is coordinated with an opening of the RNAP clamp that is stimulated by TFE. We show that the clamp in elongation complexes is modulated by the nontemplate strand and by the processivity factor Spt4/5, both of which stimulate transcription processivity. Taken together, our results reveal an intricate network of interactions within transcription complexes between RNAP, transcription factors, and nucleic acids that allosterically modulate the RNAP during the transcription cycle

Els macroheterocera dels Ports de Tortosa i Beseit (lepidoptera)

El treball exposa els resultats de les recerques lepidopterològiques (Macroheterocera) dutes a terme al massís dels ports de Tortosa i Beseit (Catalunya). Es dóna la relació de les espècies trobades (183) pertanyents a 12 famílies de Macroheterocera (a excepció dels Geometridae, tractats per Vallhonrat, 1997 i 1999) i s'inclouen comentaris sobre els taxons més interessants des de el punt de vista faunístic i biogeogràfic.The Macroheterocera of the Ports de Tortosa and Beseit (Catalonia) (Lepidoptera). In this paper are exposed the obtained results from the campaigns accomplished in the Ports de Tortosa-Beseit (Catalonia). It is made the relationship of the gathered species (183), belonging to 12 families (except the Geometridae, Vallhonrat, 1997 and 1999). They are included commentaries on the species most interesting