真核转录的分子基础——2006年诺贝尔化学奖成果简介

The Molecular Basis of Eukaryotic Transcription: An Introduction to the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2006

美国斯坦福大学医学院教授RogerD.Kornberg被授予2006年度诺贝尔化学奖,以表彰他在“真核转录的分子基础”研究领域所作出的杰出贡献。Kornberg的贡献在于,其花费10年时间构建了体外酵母细胞转录体系,并将结晶学与生化知识相结合,描述了RNA聚合酶II及包括通用转录因子、调节器、DNA和RNA在内的复合物结构图。此外,他还首先在分子水平上阐明了真核细胞中转录机制的全过程。现有的证据表明转录分子机制的研究对于各种疾病的治疗以及干细胞的分化调节均具有重大的实际意义。

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 9006 was awarded to Roger D. Kornberg for his fundamental study of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription. Roger D. Kornberg spent ten years in developing an in vitro yeast transcription system, and depicted pictures of RNA polymerase Ⅱ and other complexes containing general transcription factors, Mediator, DNA and RNA by combining crystallography with biochemical knowledge. Furthermore, he firstly illustrated the whole process of how transcription works at a molecular level in a eukaryotic cell. Accumulative evidence demonstrates that the study of molecular mechanisms of eukaryotic transcription plays important roles in the treatment of diseases and the regulation of stem-cell development.