pfam14700: RPOL_N (this model, PSSM-Id:291372 is obsolete and has been replaced by 464270)
DNA-directed RNA polymerase N-terminal
This is the N-terminal domain of DNA-directed RNA polymerase. This domain has a role in interaction with regions of upstream promoter DNA and the nascent RNA chain, leading to the processivity of the enzyme. In order to make mRNA transcripts the RNA polymerase undergoes a transition from the initiation phase (which only makes short fragments of RNA) to an elongation phase. This domain undergoes a structural change in the transition from initiation to elongation phase. The structural change results in abolition of the promoter binding site, creation of a channel accommodating the heteroduplex in the active site and formation of an exit tunnel which the RNA transcript passes through after peeling off the heteroduplex.