Transcription: from catalysis to cellular regulation

Transcription is a critical process in biology, but many of the details underlying key events of the transcription cycle, as well as its regulation, are yet to be uncovered. Professor Zenkin is studying enzymology and the regulation of RNA polymerase – the enzyme that produces the RNA transcript from a DNA template. This research draws on methods from classical biochemistry and molecular biology, as well as some novel and unique experimental systems. In the long term, an understanding of the mechanisms of bacterial transcription may provide the basis for the design of effective antimicrobial agents.