This model, donated by Roger Kornberg, shows the structure of RNA polymerase, a molecule that plays an important role in one of life’s most fundamental processes. The molecule is an enzyme, a substance that speeds up chemical processes. This particular enzyme is active in transferring genetic information stored in DNA molecules to RNA molecules. Through a kind of bubble in the RNA polymerase molecule, a long RNA molecule is assembled. The sequence of the RNA chain’s component parts is determined by a DNA molecule, which is translated inside the RNA polymerase molecule's cavity.
Roger Kornberg donated the model to the Nobel Prize Museum in 2006.
