In-cell architecture of an actively transcribing-translating expressome.

MOLECULAR machinery (Technology); MYCOPLASMA pneumoniae; RNA polymerases; GENETIC transcription; MASS spectrometry

Structural biology studies performed inside cells can capture molecular machines in action within their native context. In this work, we developed an integrative in-cell structural approach using the genome-reduced human pathogen Mycoplasma pneumoniae. We combined whole-cell cross-linking mass spectrometry, cellular cryo–electron tomography, and integrative modeling to determine an in-cell architecture of a transcribing and translating expressome at subnanometer resolution. The expressome comprises RNA polymerase (RNAP), the ribosome, and the transcription elongation factors NusG and NusA. We pinpointed NusA at the interface between a NusG-bound elongating RNAP and the ribosome and propose that it can mediate transcription-translation coupling. Translation inhibition dissociated the expressome, whereas transcription inhibition stalled and rearranged it. Thus, the active expressome architecture requires both translation and transcription elongation within the cell. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Science is the property of American Association for the Advancement of Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)