转录过程产生的扭矩作为一种重要的基因调控手段在细胞中广泛存在。最近的实验刚刚证实了原核细胞RNA聚合酶是一个强大的扭矩分子马达，其产生的扭矩可以显著地影响DNA的形貌和结构。但是扭矩如何调控真核细胞转录过程以及真核细胞RNA聚合酶究竟能产生多大的扭矩，目前仍属未知。本项目中，我们拟利用一种特殊的光学扳手技术，即角控光镊技术，在单分子层面上系统研究真核转录过程中的扭矩问题，包括测量真核RNA聚合酶所能产生的扭矩以及定量考察扭矩对真核转录过程的影响。我们的研究结果将帮助人们更加深入地了解真核RNA聚合酶的工作机制以及真核细胞转录过程的调控机理。同时，我们的研究方法也将为未来研究其他扭矩分子马达在技术上铺平道路。

Transcription generated torque has been shown to be an important regulator of gene transcription and broadly present in the cell. Recent experiments have demonstrated that a prokaryotic RNA polymerase (RNAP) is a powerful torsional motor and the torque it can generate can greatly alter DNA topology and structure. However, how torque affects the eukaryotic transcription and how much torque can an eukaryotic RNAP generate still remain unknown. Here, we propose to apply angular optical trap (AOT), a special optical torque wrench, to the study of the eukaryotic transcription under torsion, including measuring the torque that an eukaryotic RNAP can generate and quantitatively characterizing the effects of torque on eukaryotic transcription kinetics. Such studies would essentially help people gain more insights into the mechanistic nature of eukaryotic RNAPs and the mechanism of eukaryotic transcription regulation. The methods developed here will also pave the way for the study of other torsional motors in the future.