To thrive, every living cell must continuously gauge and respond to changes in its environment. These changes are ultimately implemented by modulating gene expression, a process that relies on transcription by Nature’s most multivalent molecular machine, the RNA polymerase. This book covers progress made over the past decade understanding how this machine functions to compute the cellular state, from the atomistic structural level responsible for chemistry to the integrative level at which RNA polymerase interacts with the other key molecular machineries of the cell.

This book, written by expert scientists in the field, analyses how these diverse fields of research interact on a specific example - RNA polymerase. The book concentrates on RNA polymerases because they play a central role among all the other machines operating in the cell and are the target of a wide range of regulatory mechanisms. They have also been the subject of spectacular advances in their structural understanding in recent years, as testified by the attribution of the Nobel prize in chemistry in 2006 to Roger Kornberg. The book focuses on two aspects of the transcription cycle that have been more intensively studied thanks to this increased scientific cooperation - the recognition of the promoter by the enzyme, and the achievement of consecutive translocation steps during elongation of the RNA product. Each of these two topics is introduced by an overview, and is then presented by worldwide experts in the field, taking the viewpoint of their specialty. The overview chapters focus on the mechanism-structure interface and the structure-machine interface while the individual chapters within each section concentrate more specifically on particular processes-kinetic analysis, single-molecule spectroscopy, and termination of transcription, amongst others. Specific attention has been paid to the newcomers in the field, with careful descriptions of new emerging techniques and the constitution of an atlas of three-dimensional pictures of the enzymes involved.

The cell can be viewed as a 'collection of protein machines' and understanding these molecular machines requires sophisticated cooperation between cell biologists, geneticists, enzymologists, crystallographers, chemists and physicists. To observe these machines in action, researchers have developed entirely new methodologies for the detection and the nanomanipulation of single molecules. This book, written by expert scientists in the field, analyses how these diverse fields of research interact on a specific example - RNA polymerase. The book concentrates on RNA polymerases because they play a central role among all the other machines operating in the cell and are the target of a wide range of regulatory mechanisms. They have also been the subject of spectacular advances in their structural understanding in recent years, as testified by the attribution of the Nobel prize in chemistry in 2006 to Roger Kornberg. The book focuses on two aspects of the transcription cycle that have been more intensively studied thanks to this increased scientific cooperation - the recognition of the promoter by the enzyme, and the achievement of consecutive translocation steps during elongation of the RNA product. Each of these two topics is introduced by an overview, and is then presented by worldwide experts in the field, taking the viewpoint of their speciality. The overview chapters focus on the mechanism-structure interface and the structure-machine interface while the individual chapters within each section concentrate more specifically on particular processes-kinetic analysis, single-molecule spectroscopy, and termination of transcription, amongst others. Specific attention has been paid to the newcomers in the field, with careful descriptions of new emerging techniques and the constitution of an atlas of three-dimensional pictures of the enzymes involved. For more than thirty years, the study of RNA polymerases has benefited from intense cooperation between the scientific partners involved in the various fields listed above. It is hoped that a collection of essays from outstanding scientists on this subject will catalyse the convergence of scientific efforts in this field, as well as contribute to better teaching at advanced levels in Universities.

The latest knowledge on molecular motors is vital for the understanding of a wide range of biological and medical topics: cell motility, organelle movement, virus transport, developmental asymmetry, myopathies, and sensory defects are all related to the function or malfunction of these minute molecular machines. Since there is a vast amount of information on motor mechanisms and potential biomedical and nanobiotechnological applications, this handbook fulfills the need for a collection of current research results on the functionality, regulation, and interactions of cytoskeletal, DNA, and rotary motors. Here, leading experts present a concise insight, ranging from atomic structure, biochemistry, and biophysics to cell biology, developmental biology and pathology. Basic principles and applications make this book a valuable reference tool for researchers, professionals, and clinicians alike - all set to become a "classic" in the years to come.

This book focuses on the application of fluorescence to study motor proteins (myosins, kinesins, DNA helicases and RNA polymerases). It is intended for a large community of biochemists, biophysicists and cell biologists who study a diverse collection of motor proteins. It can be used by researchers to gain an insight into their first experiments, or by experienced researchers who are looking to expand their research to new areas. Each chapter provides valuable advice for executing the experiments, along with detailed background knowledge in order to develop own experiments.

A Top 25 CHOICE 2016 Title, and recipient of the CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title (OAT) Award. How much energy is released in ATP hydrolysis? How many mRNAs are in a cell? How genetically similar are two random people? What is faster, transcription or translation?Cell Biology by the Numbers explores these questions and dozens of others provid