Transcription

Living organisms thrive, grow and reproduce thanks to a well-regulated transcription program. We wish to understand the physical laws that underlie regulatory mechanisms. This is a multifaceted problem that involves understanding the mechanical properties of DNA in different environments and how such properties affect DNA interaction with proteins, including molecular motors that carry out, or affect, transcription. New techniques and methods of analysis need to be constantly developed to probe the complex interaction between template and machinery. The knowledge gathered can be harnessed to pave the way for new treatments of diseases and new medical technology.

In this context, we are investigating how a transcribing RNA polymerase is affected by proteins bound on the template DNA, protein-induced DNA topology, supercoiling, tension, crowding and condensates.