Research News
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September 28, 2020 "The bacterial multidrug resistance regulator BmrR distorts promoter DNA to activate transcription" Online: Nature Communications
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September 28, 2020 "CueR activates transcription through a DNA distortion mechanism" Online: Nature Chemical Biology
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August 12, 2020 "Structural basis for transcription inhibition by E. coli SspA " Online: Nucleic Acids Research
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June 24, 2020"Accumulation of the RNA polymerase subunit RpoB depends on RNA editing by OsPPR16 and affects chloroplast development during early leaf development in rice"Online: New Phytologist
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March 3, 2020 “RNA extension drives a stepwise displacement of an initiation-factor structural module in initial transcription”Online: PNAS; Bioart plant: link; Media report: CAS; SIPPE
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December 30, 2019 “Crystal structures and biochemical analyses of the bacterial arginine dihydrolase ArgZ suggests a “bond rotation” catalytic mechanism.” Online: Journal of Biological Chemistry
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December 17, 2019 “Crl activates transcription by stabilizing active conformation of the master stress transcription initiation factor” Online: eLife ; Media report: CAS; SIPPE
Transcription is the first and the most-regulated step of gene expression, by which RNA polymerase (RNAP) copies genetic information from DNA to RNA. It is fundamentally important to understand the structure, function, and regulation of the transcription machinery--RNAP. RNAPs are well conserved across bacterial species but are less conserved between bacteria and human. Therefore, bacterial RNAPs are promising drug target for antibiotic discovery. Two categories of bacterial RNAP inhibitors (Rifamycins and Fidaxomicin) are currently in clinical use for the treatment of various infectious diseases.
Our lab focuses on the molecular mechanism of transcription and transcription regulation. We also develop new bactericidal antibiotics targeting bacterial RNA polymerase. We employ multiple approaches in Structure biology (X-ray crystallography and cryo-EM), Biochemistry, Enzymology, Microbiology, and Bioinformatics. Our current projects include:
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Molecular mechanism of bacterial transcription initiation
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Transcription regulation by alternative initiator “sigma” factors
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Molecular mechanism of transcription-coupled DNA repair
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Molecular mechanism of bacterial transcription termination
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Discovery and mechanism study of new RNAP regulatory proteins
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Discovery of new antibiotics targeting bacterial RNA polymerase
Lab News
Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
The Zhang Lab
| CAS Key Laboratory of Synthetic Biology | CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences |
300 Fenglin Rd. Shanghai, China