Polymerase Pieces

Researchers discover a new subunit of a bacterial RNA polymerase—as well as hints of its potential role in defending against viruses.

Written byJef Akst

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PETER LEWIS

The paper
A.N. Keller et al., “ε, a new subunit of RNA polymerase found in Gram-positive bacteria,” J Bacteriol, 196:3622-32, 2014.

The contaminent
Molecular biologist Peter Lewis of the University of Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, and colleagues were purifying RNA polymerase from the bacterium Bacillus subtilis to study transcription elongation when they stumbled across something they didn’t expect: a small, tagalong protein. “We just simply couldn’t get this protein free from other RNA polymerase subunits no matter what we did,” he says, “which led us to suspect that, at the very least, it’s very tightly associated with RNA polymerase and probably a subunit.”

The investigation X-ray crystallography of the mystery protein revealed that it was not related to known subunits and therefore deserved ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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