InterPro domain: IPR007641

RNA polymerases catalyse the DNA-dependent polymerisation of RNA. Prokaryotes contain a single RNA polymerase compared to three in eukaryotes (not including mitochondrial and chloroplast polymerases). Rpb2 is the second largest subunit of the RNA polymerase. This domain comprised of the structural domains anchor and clamp. The clamp region (C-terminal) contains a zinc-binding motif. The clamp region is named due to its interaction with the clamp domain found in Rpb1. The domain also contains a region termed switch 4. The switches within the polymerase are thought to signal different stages of transcription [ 1 ].

1. Structural basis of transcription: RNA polymerase II at 2.8 angstrom resolution. Science 292, 1863-76