The next installment of the monthly methods-focused webinar series hosted by the National Center for CryoEM Access and Training (NCCAT), along with the Pacific Northwest Center for CryoEM (PNCC), and the Stanford-SLAC CryoEM Center (S2C2) will be held on Thursday March 25, 2021 at 12 PM eastern / 9 AM pacific time

Dr. Richard H. Ebright, Board of Governors Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Rutgers University will talk about his work on the Structural basis of transcription-translation coupling

Talk Abstract:  In bacteria, transcription and translation are coupled processes, in which movement of RNA polymerase (RNAP) synthesizing mRNA is coordinated with movement of the first ribosome translating mRNA. Coupling is modulated by the transcription factors NusG–which is thought to bridge RNAP and ribosome–and NusA. Here, we report cryo-EM structures of Escherichia coli transcription-translation complexes (TTCs) containing different-length mRNA spacers between RNAP and the ribosome active-center P-site. Structures of TTCs containing short spacers show a state incompatible with NusG bridging and NusA binding (TTC-A; previously termed “expressome”). Structures of TTCs containing longer spacers reveal a new state compatible with NusG bridging and NusA binding (TTC-B) and reveal how NusG bridges and NusA binds. We propose that TTC-B mediates NusG- and NusA-dependent transcription-translation coupling.

All are welcome to attend. Registration is at no-cost, but sign-up is required: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xnTLmybUSj6LcMsEjKoSGg