Indian scientists challenge 50-year-old model of bacterial gene regulation

March 2, 2026 4:47 PM

Indian scientists challenge 50-year-old model of bacterial gene regulation

In a breakthrough that could reshape fundamental understanding of bacterial biology, Indian scientists have helped overturn a long-standing textbook model explaining how bacteria switch their genes on and off. A new study led by researchers from the Bose Institute, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), in collaboration with Rutgers University, challenges the widely accepted “sigma (σ) cycle” model of bacterial gene regulation that has dominated biolo...

Indian scientists help rewrite 50-year-old biological rule

November 19, 2025 11:21 AM

Indian scientists help rewrite 50-year-old biological rule

Indian scientists, in collaboration with researchers from Rutgers University, have challenged a fundamental biological concept that has shaped textbook understanding of bacterial gene regulation for nearly five decades. Their findings could open new possibilities for developing antibiotics and studying bacterial evolution. For years, biology textbooks have described the “sigma cycle,” a model based primarily on Escherichia coli σ70, which suggested that sigma factors bind to RNA polymerase...