Houra Merrikh

The paper identifies AddA and AddB as essential factors for resolving head-on replication-transcription conflicts in Bacillus subtilis by unwinding reversed replication forks.

The paper identifies a conserved mechanism preventing replication restart from RNA:DNA hybrids in bacteria and mammals.

The paper shows that PNPase degrades RNA in R-loops to prevent replication restart and reduce mutations during replication-transcription conflicts.

The paper shows that endogenous oxidative stress drives mutagenesis in bacteria through transcription-coupled repair, contributing to antibiotic resistance evolution.

The paper identifies topological stress as the cause of more severe outcomes in head-on replication-transcription conflicts compared to co-directional conflicts.

This study identifies Mfd's role in regulating RNAP association at hard-to-transcribe regions, particularly those with structured RNAs, and shows its importance in transcription regulation and evolution.

The paper shows that head-on replication-transcription conflicts in Bacillus subtilis lead to R-loop formation, which halts replication and gene expression, and is critical for stress survival.