text: The bacterial RNA polymerase, a leading enzyme involved in formation of a transcription bubble, uses DNA template to guide RNA synthesis. It is present in two main forms: as a core enzyme, when it is inactive, and as a holoenzyme, when it is activated. A sigma (σ) factor is a subunit that assists the process of transcription and it stabilizes the transcription bubble when it binds to unpaired bases. These two components, RNA polymerase and sigma factor, when paired together, build RNA polymerase holoenzyme which is then in its active form and ready to bind to a promoter and initiate DNA transcription. Once it binds to the DNA, RNA polymerase turns from a closed to an open complex, forming the transcription bubble. RNA polymerase synthesizes the new RNA in the 5 to 3 direction by adding complementary bases to the 3' end of a new strand. The holoenzyme composition dissociates after transcription initiation, where the σ factor disengages the complex and the RNA polymerase, in its core form, slides along the DNA molecule.