Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41326756›Full record

ArticleNature structural & molecular biology2026

DNA topoisomerase I acts as supercoiling sensor for bacterial transcription elongation.

Vita Vidmar, Céline Borde, Lisa Bruno, Nataliya Miropolskaya, Maria Takacs, Claire Batisse, Charlotte Saint-André, Chengjin Zhu, Olivier Espéli, Valérie Lamour and 1 more

Abstract read
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Article in Nature structural & molecular biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Vita Vidmar *Department of Integrated Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2809-5596
Céline Borde *Centre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Biologie (CIRB), CNRS UMR 7241/INSERM U1050, Collège de France, Université PSL, Paris, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0002-1528-7342
Lisa BrunoCentre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Biologie (CIRB), CNRS UMR 7241/INSERM U1050, Collège de France, Université PSL, Paris, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-6877-7026
Nataliya MiropolskayaDepartment of Integrated Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.
Maria TakacsDepartment of Integrated Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.
Claire BatisseDepartment of Integrated Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.
Charlotte Saint-AndréDepartment of Integrated Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7942-525X
Chengjin ZhuDepartment of Integrated Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France.
Olivier EspéliCentre Interdisciplinaire de Recherche en Biologie (CIRB), CNRS UMR 7241/INSERM U1050, Collège de France, Université PSL, Paris, France. olivier.espeli@college-de-france.fr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2804-2192
Valérie LamourDepartment of Integrated Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France. lamourv@igbmc.fr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7793-4029
Albert WeixlbaumerDepartment of Integrated Structural Biology, Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IGBMC), Illkirch, France. albert.weixlbaumer@igbmc.fr.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9635-3844

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

During transcription, RNA polymerase (RNAP) continuously unwinds and rewinds DNA, generating negative and positive supercoils upstream and downstream, respectively. Using single-particle cryo-EM, we elucidated how bacterial RNAP and DNA topoisomerase I (TopoI), which relaxes negative supercoils, operate in close spatial proximity. TopoI binds to relaxed DNA upstream of RNAP, and this involves a conformational switch in the TopoI functional domains. This suggests that TopoI exerts a sensing role before the formation of negative supercoils. On DNA substrates mimicking negatively supercoiled DNA, TopoI threads one strand into the active site for cleavage and binds the complementary strand with an auxiliary domain. Transcriptomic and phenotypic analyses suggest that mutations affecting conformational changes in TopoI impact gene expression and operon polarity in bacteria. In summary, we propose a comprehensive model for DNA relaxation in the proximity of active bacterial transcription.

Indexed as

DNA, BacterialDNA, SuperhelicalDNA Topoisomerases, Type ITranscription Elongation, GeneticBacterial ProteinsCryoelectron MicroscopyDNA-Directed RNA PolymerasesEscherichia coliGene Expression Regulation, BacterialModels, MolecularTranscription, GeneticBacterial ProteinsDNA, BacterialDNA-Directed RNA PolymerasesDNA, SuperhelicalDNA Topoisomerases, Type I

Identifiers

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.