Effects of anti-alpha monoclonal antibodies on initiation and elongation by the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase

Anti-alpha monoclonal antibodies have been used to investigate the role of the alpha subunit of RNA polymerase in initiation and elongation. The four inhibitory monoclonal antibodies studied strongly inhibit cAMP receptor protein-dependent initiation with lac P+ and partially inhibit initiation directed by the lac UV5 promoter. The data suggest that the epitopes to which each of the monoclonal antibodies bind may be proximal to the contact domain between cAMP receptor protein and RNA polymerase. Recycling of RNA polymerase through the initiation process is slower in the presence of an inhibitory monoclonal antibody. Once a 9-nucleotide-long transcript has formed, incubation with the anti-alpha monoclonal antibody does not affect subsequent elongation. The monoclonal antibodies still bind to the elongation complex as indicated by sedimentation of the complex formed after incubation with Staphylococcus aureus cells (immunoprecipitin). These results suggest that the resistance of the elongation complex to these antibodies is not a consequence of their inability to bind to RNA polymerase. Only one of the alpha subunits may be involved in the initial process of transcription, and the antigenic domain of this subunit appears to be occluded by the nascent transcript present in the elongation complex.