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( RNA polymerase)
RNA polymerase (RNAP or RNApol) is an enzyme that makes an RNA copy of a DNA or RNA template. In cells, RNAP is needed for constructing RNA chains from DNA genes, a process called transcription. RNA polymerase enzymes are essential to life and are found in all organisms and many viruses. In chemical terms, RNAP is a nucleotidyl transferase that polymerizes ribonucleotides at the 3' end of an RNA transcript. RNAP was discovered independently by Sam Weiss and Jerard Hurwitz in 1960.[1] By this time the 1959 Nobel Prize in Medicine had been awarded to Severo Ochoa and Arthur Kornberg for the discovery of what was believed to be RNAP[2], but instead turned out to be polynucleotide phosphorylase. The 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Roger Kornberg for creating detailed molecular images of RNA polymerase during various stages of the transcription process.[3] Control of the process of gene transcription affects patterns of gene expression and thereby allows a cell to adapt to a changing environment, perform specialized roles within an organism, and maintain basic metabolic processes necessary for survival. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that the activity of RNAP is both complex and highly regulated. In Escherichia coli bacteria, more than 100 factors have been identified which modify the activity of RNAP.[4]
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