ppGpp and cellular processes

[rockind78]

I am interested in knowing if ppGpp plays a role, direct or indirect, in inhibition of DNA replication and transcription in prokaryotic cells. I can't find anything direct, but it would be my guess that in times of amino acid starvation, the cell won't actively divide, or transcribe any RNA.

[Monique]

Ok, first I had to look up what ppGpp is..

ppGpp is a chemical which some bacteria produce under various conditions such as nutrient deficiency, and is made by an enzyme encoded by the rel A gene.

Now find out its function..

[Monique]

Btw: ppGpp is Guanosine tetraphosphate :) I was wondering, who names a chemical ppGpp :)

[Monique]

PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed) is the ultimate source of scientific publications.

Mechanism of regulation of transcription initiation by ppGpp. I. Effects of ppGpp on transcription initiation in vivo and in vitro. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?holding=npg&cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11162084&dopt=Abstract)

Through PubMed, anyone can access MEDLINE's 11,000,000 biomedical journal citations to research biomedical questions :)