细菌转录翻译偶联机制研究

doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-9608.2024.02.003

摘要/Abstract

摘要： 中心法则描述了遗传信息从DNA到RNA再到蛋白质的传递过程。转录过程是RNA聚合酶以DNA为模板合成信使RNA的过程，翻译过程是核糖体利用信使RNA合成蛋白质的过程。与真核生物不同，细菌和古菌没有细胞核膜的分隔，其转录过程和翻译过程在相同时间、相同位置上进行。其中，RNA聚合酶与核糖体相互协同，同步完成转录和翻译的现象被称为转录翻译偶联。转录翻译偶联是细菌和古菌的一种重要基因调控机制，能同时有效地调控转录过程和翻译过程，是细菌适应复杂环境的重要生物学基础。数十年来，大量的研究逐步揭示了细菌转录翻译偶联机制在细菌基因表达调控中的作用，一系列参与转录翻译偶联过程的调控因子也被鉴定发现。近期，基于不同偶联状态的转录翻译偶联复合体结构的突破性研究，首次系统地展示了在不同信使RNA间距下，转录翻译偶联过程的动态变化，为后续研究转录翻译偶联基因调控机制提供了理论基础。

关键词: 转录调控, 转录翻译偶联, RNA聚合酶, 核糖体

Abstract: The central dogma elucidates the process by which genetic information is transferred from DNA to RNA and ultimately to protein. During transcription, messenger RNA (mRNA) is synthesized by RNA polymerase using DNA as a template. Subsequently, ribosomes utilize the newly synthesized mRNA during translation to generate proteins. In contrast to eukaryotes, bacteria and archaea exhibit simultaneous transcription and translation within the same cellular compartment. This co-occurrence of processes is facilitated through transcription-translation coupling, wherein the leading ribosome follows transcribing RNA polymerase. Physical interactions among these macromolecular machines are important for both transcription and translation processes. Extensive research on bacterial transcription-translation coupling has progressively unveiled its pivotal role in gene regulation for last decades while identifying various regulatory factors involved in this process. Recent structural studies investigating different states of the transcriptiontranslation coupling complex have systematically demonstrated dynamic changes occurring under varying mRNA spacing conditions, thereby providing a theoretical foundation for further investigations into the gene regulation mechanisms governed by transcriptiontranslation
coupling.

Key words: transcriptional regulation, transcription-translation coupling, RNA polymerase, ribosome

张晶, 王程远. 细菌转录翻译偶联机制研究[J]. 自然杂志, 2024, 46(2): 95-104.

ZHANG Jing, WANG Chengyuan. Recent advances of transcription-translation coupling in bacteria[J]. Chinese Journal of Nature, 2024, 46(2): 95-104.

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